Kentucky's Assist to Turnover Ratio Was a High Point in UK's Win Over Tennessee Tech

Since taking over as head coach at Kentucky, Mark Pope has made the assist-to-turnover ratio an emphasis for his teams. At times, UK has struggled in this aspect, as evidenced by the loss to Michigan State at Madison Square Garden. However, there have certainly been plenty of high points.

Wednesday was one of those nights to remember in that aspect. Kentucky finished with a 27:8 assist-to-turnover ratio in a 104-54 win over Tennessee Tech.

While Tennessee Tech was able to hang with Kentucky early, the Cats pulled away in the second half. A big reason for Kentucky outscoring Tennessee Tech 61-26 in the second half was how Kentucky took care of the ball. UK had a 14:4 second-half assist-to-turnover ratio, powering them to a dominant win.

Kentucky Spread the Wealth

Kentucky didn’t rely on one player to boost its assist-to-turnover ratio. Instead, it was a collective effort with nine different players finishing with at least one assist.

Collin Chandler led the way with five assists, only turning the ball over once. Only three players (Otega Oweh, Kam Williams, and Jasper Johnson) finished with multiple turnovers, but none had more than two.

Denzel Aberdeen‘s night was one to remember, going for 16 points, four assists, and only one turnover. Kentucky had five different players score in double-figures, and a lot of that was due to the team’s ability to spread the ball around.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, Kentucky was a top 20 team nationally in assists per game at 19.5. After a 27-assist game, UK will keep moving up the leaderboard as one of the best teams in the country at racking up assists.

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