Coming off a 10-day layoff and an 85-65 loss to Ohio State, the 10th-ranked Wildcats had little trouble disposing of the Bears in the first meeting between the two schools. Kentucky closed out the non-conference schedule with an 11-2 mark, including a perfect 9-0 record at home.
The Wildcats put the Bears away by outscoring outscored the guests 33-13 in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Brown’s final tally — 54 points — was the lowest allowed by Kentucky this season.
Most of Kentucky’s scoring came in transition. The Wildcats scored 33 points off 23 miscues by Brown.
Andrew Carr led four players in double figures for the Wildcats with 14 points, with all of those coming in the opening half. Carr has reached double figures in five straight games.
Amari Williams, Koby Brea and Otega Oweh followed Carr with 13 points each. Oweh, Kentucky’s leading scorer, tallied just two points in the first half but had 11 in the second frame.
Pope cleared his bench and 10 players scored in the easy victory. The Wildcats got 34 points from their reserves, with freshmen Trent Noah and Travis Perry combing for three of the team’s 10 3-pointers. Perry finished with four points and Noah scored six.
Kentucky opens the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule against undefeated and No. 6 Florida on Saturday at Rupp Arena. It will be the start of what's expected to be a fight for the league title. Ten teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and five — Tennessee (No. 1), Auburn (No. 2), Alabama (No. 5), Florida (No. 6) and Kentucky (10th) - are in the top 10.
(Photo Les Nicholson)
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