Kentucky men’s basketball (6-4) defeated the North Carolina Central Eagles (3-9) 103-67 on Tuesday night in front of a miniscule Rupp Arena crowd.
The Cats entered the game on the back of a 35-point loss to No. 11 Gonzaga in Nashville, Tenn., one that earned them boos from those UK fans in Bridgestone Arena and a lost spot in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since Jan. 2023.
On Tuesday night, head coach Mark Pope switched around the starting lineup once more, replacing Kam Williams, who scored zero points through 15 minutes played against the Zags, with Trent Noah, who started just one other game this season.
Aside from that minor shakeup, Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler and Malachi Moreno stayed put in the starting five.
Noah opened his second start with a made 3-point field goal on UK’s first trip down, following a defensive stop, Chandler then flushed home a layup to give the Wildcats an early 5-0 lead.
The Eagles got their first points 2:17 into the game after Khouri Carvey grabbed an offensive board and finished a layup.
By the first media timeout, Kentucky held a 10-7 lead and was shooting 4-8 (50%) from the field and 2-5 (40%) from deep.
Out of the timeout, Aberdeen and Oweh scored back-to-back baskets to put UK’s point total at 14 before NC Central’s Ramondo Battle II responded with a made 3-pointer.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half, UK held a 23-15 advantage with Oweh and Jasper Johnson each leading the Cats with five points a piece.
UK opened its lead to 20 points with a little less than five minutes to go in the first half after Noah buried his second 3-point field goal of the half, making the score read 43-23 Kentucky.
Following Noah’s second made 3-pointer, the sophomore slammed home a dunk that was followed by a made layup by Oweh, adding a quick four points to UK’s total.
The Cats went into the break with a 52-31 advantage, shooting 59% from the field and 43% from deep while amounting 12 total assists. Oweh (12 points) and Noah (11 points) led the Cats in points, shooting a combined 5-7 from deep.
Kentucky started the second half shooting 5-8 from the field, however, the Eagles were burying their own shots, outscoring the Cats 13-12 by the time the first media timeout hit.
UK point guard Jaland Lowe, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury, checked into the game with 14:32 left to play, attempting to slowly get back into the swing of things.
While tallying eight minutes, Lowe tallied just two assists without attempting a field goal.
With 10 minutes left in the game, UK led the Eagles 80-48 following Chandler’s first made 3-point field goal of the night. At that point, UK was shooting 59.2% from the field and 40.9% from downtown.
With under six minutes left to play in the game, the Cats constructed a 7-0 run courtesy of five points from Andrija Jelavic and a made layup by Oweh, pushing the lead to 93-60.
Kentucky finished the game shooting 60.9% from the field and 41.4% from beyond the 3-point arch, while Johnson led with a game-high and career-high 22 points, followed by a 21-point outing from Oweh.
UK has a big opportunity on Saturday, Dec. 13 when it battles the Indiana Hoosiers (7-2) for the first time since 2016 in Rupp Arena. Tipoff for that game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed on ESPN.
