Defense carries the load in Kentucky's season-opening win
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After watching defense be the biggest pause for concern throughout Mark Pope’s first season at Kentucky, the Wildcats opened Year 2 under their head coach with a smothering defensive effort against Nicholls on Tuesday at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky held the Colonels to 30.2% from the field, 4-for-24 from the arc, and recorded eight steals en route to a 77-51 victory in the first game of the BBN United Tipoff Classic.
Nicholls’ 51 points were the lowest total for a UK opponent in the Pope era. The Cats are 13-0 the last two seasons when holding the opponent under 70 points.
“I was so proud of our guys, the first-half defensive performance,” Pope said. “I thought we really, really focused the last several days on communicating defensively and trying to fill some different assignments, and I thought we did very, very well in the first half.
“I’m really excited about that. We held them to 15 in the first half. The all-time record at UK is 11… I thought overall it was a 10-kill game, and it was the first time I’ve coached a team here that’s got 10 kills in a game. I was really proud of that.”
The UK staff records a kill any time the Cats record three stops in a row on the defensive end of the floor.
“I thought their physicality bothered us,” Nicholls head coach Tevon Saddler said.
After playing to a sluggish 28-15 lead at halftime, the Cats gradually pulled away with a 49-point outburst in the second period. Sophomore guard Collin Chandler scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and knocked down four of UK’s seven 3-pointers on the night.
The Farmington, Utah, native also dished out four assists, recorded two steals, and turned in the highlight reel play of the night with a one-handed windmill dunk over Nicholls defender Grant Sanders midway through the second half.
“It felt good,” Chandler said. “I’ve gotten a few so far, but it’s my first time having somebody jump with me this time. It was fun.”
His coach loved his all-around effort.
“I thought Collin started the game elite defensively,” Pope said. “I thought he made great defensive plays early in the game… and it was nice to see him find some comfort level on the offensive end tonight, too.”
Kentucky also got double-figures from Otega Oweh (13), Jasper Johnson (11), and Denzel Aberdeen (10). Playing without expected starting point guard Jaland Lowe, who missed the game with a shoulder injury he sustained in the Blue/White Scrimmage, Aberdeen dished out six assists and finished with no turnovers in 23 minutes off the UK bench.
Nicholls got 13 points from senior guard Jalin Rice and 10 points from sophomore guard Jalik Dunkley.
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In our regular postgame feature, CI touches on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…
GAME BALL:
Collin Chandler, Kentucky — Terrific on both ends of the court, the Utah native had his best game to date as a Wildcat. He finished with a game-high 15 points (also a personal career high), knocked down four 3-pointers, dished out four assists, and recorded two steals.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st – Meeting between Kentucky and Nicholls on the hardwood.
3 – Wildcats played in their first collegiate game. Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, and Andrija Jelavic combined for 22 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists off the UK bench.
15 – Points allowed in the first half were the lowest total surrendered by UK at Rupp Arena since holding Eastern Kentucky to 14 on Dec. 7, 2014.
21 – Assists for Kentucky on 29 buckets. Mouhamed Dioubate, Jasper Johnson, and Collin Chandler each had four.
50th – Season at Rupp Arena begins for UK.
102 -21 – The Cats’ all-time record in season openers.
QUOTABLE:
“If we can ever get to a point to where we like, we don’t even care if we score. We are getting a stop every single time down the floor, that would be actually a really fun team to coach. This team, I don’t know if we are built exactly that way, but we might be built close. We might be built close. It’s a pretty fun way to play. It could be great.” — UK head coach Mark Pope
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action in the BBN United Tipoff Classic on Friday against Valparaiso. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.