Trent Noah is finding his rhythm after career night against Tennessee Tech

by: Zack Geoghegan2 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Trent Noah‘s three-point shooting was the talk of the offseason, but an ankle injury nine minutes into his sophomore debut stunted his momentum.

He was able to rediscover his groove on Wednesday night.

Noah poured in a career-high 16 points during Kentucky’s 104-54 win over Tennessee Tech in Rupp Arena. The Harlan native was nearly perfect on the night, shooting 5-6 from the field (4-5 3PT) and 2-2 from the free throw line. 10 of his points came before the intermission, one of the few positive developments from a mostly ugly first-half performance by the Wildcats. He tacked on six rebounds (which tied a career-high) and an assist for good measure in his 21 minutes of action.

After a slow start to the season, Noah was finally able to shine.

“I was just happy to be out there and playing with my teammates,” Noah said afterward. “I’m so thankful for them and just having a good time. I mean, it’s Thanksgiving, so I’m super thankful for all my guys that get me shots and they get me open, and it’s reciprocated.”

His hot-shooting night started early, too. It only took him a minute after coming off the bench before banging home his first triple of the night. Later on, Noah was part of the crew that helped push Kentucky into a big halftime lead. With the Wildcats in front 27-25, his three-pointer kick-started what ended up being a 16-3 Kentucky run to close the half. It was a needed performance by him, especially with North Carolina coming to town next week.

Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

This is now back-to-back showings from Noah where the deep ball has been in his favor. He was 2-4 from long range in the win over Loyola (MD) last week. He’s now up to an 8-16 clip on outside shots this season. The stories of him being an elite marksman earlier in the summer are now looking more and more like the truth. He’s had to do all this while quickly recovering from the aforementioned ankle injury, too, which removed him from the starting lineup.

Kentucky will need Noah’s shooting skills this season to achieve the long-term goals. His last two games have been a step in the right direction. Will it continue against the Tar Heels?