Kentucky will aim to improve upon its best start in seven seasons when it hosts Western Kentucky on Tuesday night in Lexington, Ky., in the final game of the BBN Invitational.
The Wildcats (5-0) are ranked No. 8 in the latest Associated Press poll and are setting impressive offensive milestones even for a program as tradition-rich as Kentucky, which includes eight national championships.
The Wildcats have scored 97 or more points in their first four home games for the first time in program history and eclipsed the 100-point mark in three of those games. Their lone trip out of state was a solid 77-72 victory over Duke in a matchup of top-10 teams in Atlanta.
Kentucky has also made at least 10 three-pointers in each of its first five games of a season for the first time ever.
“I think Kentucky attracts good people,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said after the Wildcats’ 108-59 win over Jackson State on Friday. “It’s the one place in all college basketball where you represent just a fanbase in a different, unique way.”
Otega Oweh and Koby Brea have led the Wildcats’ early scoring outburst.
Oweh, who is averaging 16.2 points per game, had 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting against Jackson State.
“He gets us off to unbelievable starts every night,” Pope told reporters after that game. “He’s probably been our most consistent guy in games.”
Brea, who scored 22 points against Jackson State and is averaging 16.0 points per game, is leading the nation in 3-point accuracy at 74.1 percent.
As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. And the few times they miss, Amari Williams has been doing the dirty work on the glass, averaging 10.8 boards in addition to 9.6 points per game.
Kentucky faces a different challenge than it’s had to contend with so far in the Hilltoppers (3-2), who have won three in a row after losing their first two games to Wichita State and Grand Canyon.
Their up-tempo play hasn’t exactly resulted in great offensive output, but in the Hilltoppers’ 79-62 win over Jackson State on Wednesday, they shot 45.2 percent from 3-point range (14 for 31).
“I was happy to see a lot of different guys contribute tonight and, hopefully, get their feet under them a little bit and get some confidence,” said Western Kentucky coach Hank Plona, who is in his first season as head coach. “Obviously, Tuesday will be quite a test and challenge for us and we’ll need them to be at their absolute best.”
Western Kentucky has an experienced group, which returned mostly intact from last season. The team is led by Conference USA first-team selection Don McHenry, who is leading the team with 17.2 points and 2.2 steals per game.
McHenry is one of four Hilltoppers with scoring averages in double figures. Julius Thedford (11.4 points per game) and Babacar Faye (15.0) are each shooting 40 percent or better from 3-point range.
Western Kentucky also figures to challenge the Wildcats on the boards as it enters the game ranked in the top 25 in defensive rebounding (30.4 per game). Faye leads the Hilltoppers in that department, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game and figures to battle Williams inside.
“We’re not the biggest team in the world, but our depth and our quickness are our strengths,” Plona said.
–Field Level Media
