The Big Blue Nation got its initial look at Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team on Wednesday night as the Cats faced Kentucky Wesleyan in an exhibition contest at Rupp Arena.
Pope was pleased with his team’s play, especially since it was his team’s first time facing someone other than themselves.
“I was pleased,” Pope said. “I thought our guys, from the very beginning, did a tremendous job making plays for teammates, playing off two feet, winning the gap, being judicious and really sharing the ball the way we hope to and anticipate that we will. It was a good night for us. I’m really proud of our guys. Their focus was tremendous. Their decision making for the most part was really good. They were very much on their toes and in attack mode, and that’s where we want to be.”
Pope thought that his team, which was playing together for the first time, handled the situation well.
“The best part of it was, it’s the first time these guys have ever been in a game together, first time in this building in a game in official uniforms in front of our fans and all of the distractions that come with it,” Pope said. “These guys did a great job of taking on all the new and then really executing. That’s our standard. That’s what we expect of our guys and I was really proud of that.”
Kentucky made 48 of 76 from the floor (63.2 percent) for the game, including 21 of 42 (50 percent) from three-point range. The Cats had 32 assists on the 48 made baskets. UK had five runs in the game where they hit at least four shots in a row.
The game was tied 4-4 early when Kentucky went on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 13-4. The run would continue as the Cats outscored the Panthers 23-2 over nearly five minutes of game action to build a commanding 27-6 lead.
Kentucky hit 24 of 39 shots, including 8 of 20 from behind the arc, in the first half, building a 60-24 lead at the break. Robinson had 13 points in the first 20 minutes while Oweh had 11.
UK would continue to extend its lead in the second half, with the final margin of victory being the largest lead that the Cats held in the game.
Kentucky plays its final exhibition game on Tuesday night, facing defending NCAA Division II national champion Minnesota State-Mankato. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.