No. 23 Kentucky men’s basketball took care of business, defeating Minnesota State-Mankato, the reigning NCAA Division-II national champions, 98-67 in exhibition play.
The contest against the Mavericks was the final preseason game of the year before the Wildcats officially kick off the regular season and the Mark Pope era in Lexington.
Kicking things off with a starting lineup of Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams, Kentucky got into early trouble when, not dissimilar from exhibition on, Oweh was the only Cat able to start hot, scoring seven of Kentucky’s first 10.
This would get worse when Williams was forced to leave the floor with an apparent leg injury, not to return in the first half.
Despite that, where the basketball gods taketh away, they also giveth as Kerr Kriisa made his Kentucky debut after missing the first exhibition as a precaution.
This was for not, however, as poor play from the Cats and costly turnovers from Robinson saw the Mavericks get within three though a quarter of play.
Pope would insert Harlan’s own Trent Noah into the lineup, and, while it wouldn’t make an immediate impact, the Kentucky kid would create the spark that blossomed into a burning flame, nailing a key 3-pointer to ignite the Cats.
From there, Robinson, Butler and others found their rhythm and started what would ultimately become a 21-3 scoring run for the Wildcats to lead by 20 at the break.
Kentucky returned for the second half much better than it started the game, with a 8-2 start forcing a Maverick timeout. The pause was unsuccessful, however, as, by the 15-minute timeout, Kentucky had outscored Minnesota State 17-6.
With Kriisa displaying a strong ability to see and lead developing plays, perhaps a testament to his namesake in Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, the lead only grew from there.
From there, Kentucky cruised to victory to end its exhibition season flawless with an average of over 100 points.
With the result, Kentucky concluded its preseason and will now turn its sights fully on its season opener on Monday, Nov. 4, against Wright State. Tip-off against the Raiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPNU.
