LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said the Wildcats would come out with a vengeance on Tuesday night against LSU after their loss to No. 1 Auburn on Saturday. The Wildcats did just that and more, racing out to a 50-23 lead and never looking back in a dominant 95-64 win on Senior Night.
“Tonight there was a lot of pace against a really good transition defensive team,” Pope said. “I think we kind of have a vibe for the first time. It feels like we are going to have the same guys out on the floor on Saturday [at Missouri] as we did tonight, as we did last Saturday, which we haven’t had that in almost two months.
“We are really excited about that, and we are really excited about getting back focused in this late stretch to continue getting better and to continue bringing pace to the game is really important to us.”
Pope has said he wants this team to shoot 35 three-pointers a game. The Wildcats shot 32 three-pointers Tuesday night, making seven of their 12 total in the first half. Six different players made at least one three-pointer, with graduate forward Ansley Almonor and Freshman guard Collin Chandler both coming off the bench to make three three-pointers.
“Ansley, my goodness, what a season he’s had,” Pope said. “For a guy never in his wildest dreams thought he would be wearing a Kentucky jersey, you think about the huge impactful moments that he’s had in games for us and he’s going to be big down the stretch.
“He did great tonight just casting out, like, I’m going to be a baller man, make minutes and I’m gonna go play. I thought his energy and intensity were great tonight. I thought he was really special. He’s been great all season.”
Speaking of being big down the stretch, Collin Chandler is also going to be just that for this Wildcats team. Throughout the season, Chandler would come in and give Kentucky fans a rollercoaster experience. While his defense has always been solid, his offensive game has taken more time to develop.
On Tuesday night, Chandler looked as good and confident on the offensive end as he has all season. The former Utah Gatorade Player of the Year set career highs in points (11), three-pointers (three), rebounds (four), assists (four) and minutes (17).
“I have just been wanting to help the team in any way I can, and that was defensively,” Chandler said. “I needed to get better, so that was a focus for me— getting better defensively, coming in and being solid and reliable as a defender, but it can’t just be that way.
“I need to continue to grow offensively and be a threat out there too, because if I’m not a threat out there, it affects my teammates as well on offense. So, I’ve been focusing on offense as well and getting myself.”
Chandler is one of three Freshmen, along with Travis Perry and Trent Noah, that are going to be contributors, potentially key contributors, for Kentucky in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
“Collin, and Trent, and Travis Perry in some ways are just incredibly important to our stretch run here,” Pope said. “Those guys are ready, they are capable, and those three guys have got to step up and make huge plays for us like veteran experienced players, and they can. But those guys are really crucial. The success that we have is going to be in some part dependent on them being great and they are ready to do it.”
Another player who’s been great throughout this season is junior guard Otega Oweh. After struggling to score and getting in foul trouble in two of his last three games, Oweh was in attack mode on Tuesday night. His 24 points led all scorers, and Oweh had 15 of those 24 points in the first half.
Oweh is Kentucky’s leading scorer, and he will have to be great, if not even better than great, with Jaxson Robinson out for the remainder of the season.
“There’s no pressure at all [to do our job without Robinson]” Oweh said. “We have the next-man-up mentality. Whoever’s out there, we just got to try and make it work, do what you can when you’re on the court.”
Another element to this game that worked in Kentucky’s favor was not turning the ball over. The Wildcats dished out 22 assists and had just eight turnovers. Taking care of the ball is going to be paramount for the Wildcats in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
That also includes this Saturday at Missouri (21-8, 10-6 SEC), Kentucky’s last game of the regular-season and one that will have a major impact on their seeding in the SEC Tournament.
Missouri is a very good team, especially on the offensive end. But a performance like Tuesday night for the Wildcats may be enough to win on Saturday and gain momentum going into the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky played with a vengeance on Tuesday night, and that can lead to more wins and deep runs in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments this March.
