After an emotional loss to No. 12 Louisville earlier this week and dealing with the blow of Jaland Lowe reinjuring his shoulder during practice on Thursday, the Wildcats were due for a complete team reset.
From the get-go, Kentucky found its much-needed success – and it didn’t come from one or two standout performances. It came from 10 balanced ones.
The style Kentucky played tonight wasn’t anything new. In fact, it was the return of a play style that led to Kentucky’s best performance of the season against preseason No. 1 Purdue.
The selfless play style that led it to upset the best team in the country returned against Eastern Illinois and, once again, proved to be a recipe for dominance.
No. 9 Kentucky men’s basketball (3-1) hosted Eastern Illinois (1-3) for the final game of the BBN United Tipoff Classic, defeating the Panthers 99-53.
10 Wildcats saw the floor through the first half, and nine of them found points. The distribution came from the jump, with Mo Dioubate leading the team early on with four points in the first three minutes.
Through the first half, Dioubate led the team in points (10) as well as rebounds (6). Malachi Moreno wasn’t far behind him, coming off the bench to contribute nine points and three rebounds in just nine minutes of play.
Trent Noah made his return following an ankle injury that sat him out of the last two games, putting up eight points with two monster 3-pointers to extend Kentucky’s lead early on.
Brandon Garrison added six points and three rebounds of his own, while Jasper Johnson and Andrija Jelavic each chipped in a 3-pointer. Collin Chandler totaled four points in the first half, while Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh each found a bucket of their own.
The balance showed up in the rotations as well, with no Wildcat playing more than 13 minutes in the opening half and only six of them over 10 minutes.
The balance was also present on the defensive side, with eight different Wildcats grabbing at least two rebounds as the group totaled 31 first-half boards.
The second half mirrored the first, with all 10 players rotating in through the first 10 minutes of play and five Wildcats finding points on the floor.
Dioubate broke out with a standout performance in the second half. The defensively dominant forward found himself as Kentucky’s offensive weapon, shooting 100% from both the field and beyond the arc for a total of 10 points through the first 15 minutes.
He eventually secured his first double-double of the season with a 20-point, 11-rebound performance.
However, balance kept Kentucky up by double digits with five minutes remaining, with no player totaling more than 10 minutes on the court.
Kentucky would walk away with the 46-point victory, with five players in double-digit scoring margins.
Kentucky returns to action Tuesday, Nov. 18, travelling to New York City for the State Farm Champions Classic. The Cats will face No. 17 Michigan State (3-0), with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
