It Wasn’t Pretty, But I’m Not Panicking

(LEXINGTON)- Kentucky took down Little Rock on Friday night in Rupp Arena 69-49 to mark the open of their three game exhibition season. I don’t know how much we can really tell as fans from a game like this, but I did think a few things stood out against Travis Ford’s newest team.

1. Kentucky Might Be Better on Defense Than Originally Thought

All offseason the narrative that this team would be able to score the basketball in bunches but couldn’t defend anyone with a pulse was shoved down the BBN’s collective throats. However, with watching tonight, the opposite was almost true. Kentucky recorded eight blocks and nine steals as a team. They also held the Trojans to just 31% shooting on 18-for-58 shooting from the field. Pope said after the game, “You hold a team to 49 points with 19 turnovers, giving them 12 points off of turnovers…that’s an exceptional night.” The third year Coach has assembled a roster that is long and athletic. One would think that could translate to disruption in the passing lanes and difficultly contested shots. The only way to tell will be against better competition, but they did show some defensive chops tonight.

2 .Milan Momcilovic Looks Like He Was Worth Every Penny

The biggest story of the night also came from Pope’s biggest prize hauled in from the transfer portal. Albeit an expensive prize, he looked worth it. He led Kentucky with 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field in a game where he was basically being face guarded the entire time by Little Rock. The 4-for-7 from deep will play too. Not to be one dimensional, he also raked in 7 boards. His veteran presence was felt in the Second Half and helped Kentucky pull away. We all knew he could shoot, but I think the takeaway is how his shooting changes what Kentucky is able to do on the offensive end of the floor and how much more efficient the offense flows when he’s finding the bottom of the basket.

Photo: UK Athletics

3 . There can be concern, but not panic

Let’s face it. Tonight was the first time that this iteration of Kentucky basketball played against someone other than themselves or some washed up graduate assistants. With all being considered, a 20 point victory is nothing to complain too much about. You can complain that there were too many turnovers and that the two main point guards combined for 7 of them. But, it is a small sample size. There is some mild concern about how easily Little Rock was able to use pressure to disrupt Kentucky and how that will translate on film for opponents, but that is nitpicking. Will I have complaints as the season progresses? If you’ve ever read my work or listened to my show, you know there will be plenty. Panic is far too early to be an emotion any of the BBN should be feeling about this basketball team.

What can be said is tonight the Cats came out victorious and healthy.

Not all other teams are fortunate enough to say the same.