No. 6 Kentucky men’s basketball defeated Missouri 90-77 inside Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.
The game served as the Cats’ SEC home opener and saw the team remain undefeated in conference play on the back of 23 points from Rob Dillingham and a 20-point double-double from Tre Mitchell.
The Wildcats entered the matchup on the back of an 87-85 win on the road against Florida to kickoff SEC play for both teams.
Looking to continue their winning ways, the Cats ran out a familiar starting lineup of Justin Edwards, Antonio Reeves, D.J. Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw and Mitchell.
Things quickly got off to a quick start with both teams shooting the lights out early, leaving the score at 28-21 after just eight minutes of play.
Kentucky would jump out to a 14-point lead and looked to run away with it, but a rally by the Tigers ensured that fans inside Rupp Arena were treated to a proper basketball game instead.
With Missouri back in the contest, the pair battled it out, with Kentucky boasting a five-point lead at the halfway break.
Returning to action in the second quarter, Kentucky once again found itself hot from the floor and quickly extended its lead.
The Tigers would keep the score consistent for much of the first half of the second quarter, but as the 10 minute mark drew near the Cats once again extended their lead into double figures.
In a similar story seen all game long, the score remained consistently around the 10-point mark as the clock continued winding down, with the Cats leading 75-66 with under eight minutes remaining.
This trend would continue with the clock reading less than four minutes left to play.
As the seconds ticked away, both teams went ice cold from the field, having field goal droughts lasting over five minutes long with Missouri’s getting to nearly 10 minutes long.
Kentucky was able to handle the Tigers as they struggled offensively, earning the victory to improve to 2-0 in the SEC.
Kentucky will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13, inside Reed Arena against the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
