- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 408,554
- Reaction score
- 43
MILWAUKEE — Kentucky basketball didn’t show a lot of sizzle in its NCAA Tournament first-round win over Troy, despite what the 76-57 score may have implied.
Frankly, the ability to overwhelm and overpower opponents may have disappeared with Jaxson Robinson’s season-ending wrist injury and Lamont Butler clearly laboring while playing with an injured left shoulder.
What the third-seeded Wildcats did to the 14th-seeded Trojans was more impressive and is better suited to make a long tournament run.
UK was methodical in its approach.
It played like a team that knows it’s most effective unselfishly playing within its system. The Cats had assists on their first 13 shots in the second half and finished with 23 assists on 28 made baskets for the game.
Kentucky trailed for all of 23 seconds but didn’t really distance itself from Troy until a 16-0 run turned its six-point lead into 61-39 with 8:04 left.
When the Trojans responded with a 9-0 spurt, the Cats put together their third run of 10 or more points sandwiched by a pair of Koby Brea 3-pointers for a 12-0 response to essentially put the game out of reach at 73-50 with 1:49 left.
This column will be updated.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope's team handles Troy in NCAA opener
Continue reading...
Frankly, the ability to overwhelm and overpower opponents may have disappeared with Jaxson Robinson’s season-ending wrist injury and Lamont Butler clearly laboring while playing with an injured left shoulder.
What the third-seeded Wildcats did to the 14th-seeded Trojans was more impressive and is better suited to make a long tournament run.
UK was methodical in its approach.
It played like a team that knows it’s most effective unselfishly playing within its system. The Cats had assists on their first 13 shots in the second half and finished with 23 assists on 28 made baskets for the game.
Kentucky trailed for all of 23 seconds but didn’t really distance itself from Troy until a 16-0 run turned its six-point lead into 61-39 with 8:04 left.
When the Trojans responded with a 9-0 spurt, the Cats put together their third run of 10 or more points sandwiched by a pair of Koby Brea 3-pointers for a 12-0 response to essentially put the game out of reach at 73-50 with 1:49 left.
This column will be updated.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope's team handles Troy in NCAA opener
Continue reading...
