Kentucky impressive in 78-65 exhibition win over Purdue
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Since taking over the Kentucky basketball program last year, Mark Pope has never shied away from lofty expectations.
The way his Wildcats played on Friday in a high-profile exhibition opener against preseason No. 1 Purdue, the bar may have been raised even higher.
Kentucky showcased a revamped roster and deep rotation in a 78-65 win over the Boilermakers with a crowd of 19,906 watching at Rupp Arena.
Freshman guard Jasper Johnson scored a team-high 15 points for the No. 9 Wildcats, who put 10 players in the scoring column with six recording eight or more points. Senior guard Otega Oweh and sophomore guard Trent Noah each added 10 points for UK.
Senior guard Denzel Aberdeen followed with nine points, while junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate and freshman center Malachi Moreno each chipped in with eight.
“After I met with the team, looking at the box score, and I was like, this feels like my ’96 team in terms of point distribution,” Pope said. “Can you do that in 25-26? Can we actually pull it off, where we have guys that care so much about each other and so much about Kentucky that they are willing to do this? We are going to see. If we can do it, it’s a fun way to play, man. It’s pretty special.”
“They have a good mix of athletes and guys that can shoot,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of the Wildcats. “Those guys that came off the bench… I thought Jasper Johnson could have been the difference in the game. He made some big shots and made some big plays.
“Jasper Johnson is very, very twitchy—change of direction, change of pace, really keeps you off balance with his stuff.”
The Cats shot 49% from the field and knocked down nine of their 29 attempts from the 3-point line, while holding Purdue to 39% from the field and 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Kentucky also dominated the glass, owning a 42-30 advantage. Junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go along with his eight points, two blocked shots, and two steals.
“More than anything, I just thought they embraced the physicality of the game,” Painter said of the winners.
“I think we have to do a much better job at rebounding,” said Purdue power forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who had a game-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds. “… For the most part, people thought we would outrebound [Kentucky]. I think that is the biggest thing.”
Making the performance even more impressive, UK played without starting point guard Jaland Lowe, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury he sustained in the Blue/White Scrimmage, and potential starting center Jayden Quaintance, who is nearing the end of his ACL rehab.
Kentucky led 38-30 at the half. Purdue pulled within three early in the second period, but a seven-point spurt put the Cats back ahead by double-digits.
The Boilermakers missed nine consecutive shots from the field midway through the second half as UK stretched its lead to 66-52. The Cats led by as much as 17 down the stretch.
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In our “Rapid Recap” feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…
GAME BALL:
Jasper Johnson, Kentucky — Purdue head coach Matt Painter said it himself: the UK freshman guard was probably the difference in the game. The son of former UK football standout Dennis Johnson went 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, and dished out three assists in 19 impressive minutes off the bench.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st – Starting lineup of the season for UK: Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Trent Noah, Mo Dioubate, and Brandon Garrison. Collin Chandler was the first player off the bench for the Cats at the 15:40 mark.
4 – Second-chance points scored by the Boilermakers. UK won the battle on the glass 42-30 and allowed Purdue to grab only seven offensive rebounds.
+15 – A team-high plus/minus for UK’s Collin Chandler despite scoring only two points. He contributed five points, three assists, and some of the Cats’ best on-ball defense in just over 15 minutes of action.
9/29 – Kentucky’s shooting from the 3-point arc. Purdue went 3-for-17.
34-18 – Bench scoring advantage for the Wildcats.
155-12 – Kentucky’s all-time record in exhibition games. The Cats have no won 34 straight dating back to Aug. 17, 2014, vs. the Dominican Republic in the final game of the Big Blue Bahamas exhibition tour.
QUOTABLE:
“I thought our bench was elite.” — UK head coach Mark Pope
UP NEXT:
Kentucky will play its second and final exhibition game on Thursday, Oct. 30, against the Georgetown Hoyas at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is slated 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
