Kentucky hits seven first-half threes to take 38-29 lead at Mizzou

This was hyped as a fast-paced, high-scoring battle between two of the best offenses in the SEC, so why not a combined 67 points with defense being a top storyline at halftime?

Kentucky was totally out of sorts early as Missouri threw everything it had at ’em defensively, momentum on the Tigers’ side. Then the Wildcats hit some massive shots to shut up the crowd a bit while locking in defensively themselves, leading to an impressive 38-29 lead at halftime.

UK has hit seven first-half threes on 58.3 percent shooting split between five different Cats, Koby Brea leading the way with 11 points on 4-5 overall and 3-3 from deep. Andrew Carr and Amari Williams have added eight points apiece while Collin Chandler — playing immaculate defense individually, I may add — joins Trent Noah and Travis Perry with three points each. Maybe the best part? Otega Oweh is having a rough day, adding just two points on 1-6 shooting. The Cats are responding without their leading scorer’s best.

Mark Mitchell is heating up for the Tigers, though, which is something to monitor in the second half. He’s got 12 points on 5-8 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. Tony Perkins has added seven points while Caleb Grill has five, shooting just 1-4 from deep in the first.

Can Kentucky keep it up for another 20 minutes? It’ll be the difference in SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding. Time to see what these guys are made of.