Game 1 of the Mark Pope era of Kentucky Basketball was a lot of fun. The new-look Wildcats kept up the high scoring seen in the two preseason exhibitions, crossing the 100-point mark on Monday in a 41-point blowout of Wright State, the first regular-season opponent on the 2024-25 schedule.
Kentucky shot 60 percent from the field and 45.8 from outside, making for an exciting 40 minutes from start to finish of a 103-62 victory. Everyone played well, but these people, plays, and moments stood out in Game 1.
We’ll start with the start.
13 points in the first three minutes
In another sign of the change in times, Kentucky wasted no time jumping out to an early lead. Slow starts were common a season ago, but these Wildcats pounced right away, scoring 13 points in the first three minutes of basketball.
The hot start was a team effort, too, as all five starters contributed to the scoreboard in the opening minutes. The fun began with a perfectly designed play to get Andrew Carr an open lob for the game’s first points, followed by four straight from Otega Oweh, an Amari Williams dunk, a Lamont Butler layup, and Jaxson Robinson‘s first of many 3s in Rupp Arena.
All five starters were on the board three minutes into the game as Kentucky took an early lead and never looked back, leading the Raiders by 22 points by halftime.
Amari Williams played and played great
It wasn’t certain that Amari Williams would play in the season opener after he suffered a knee injury minutes into last week’s preseason game. Williams was able to play in Game 1, though, and he was outstanding. The knee’s fine, folks.
Williams recorded his first double-double as a Wildcat, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds in only 20 minutes of action. He had 11 and 11 early in the second half, part of his standout night in Kentucky’s paint. Williams missed only one of six shot attempts from the field and showed off his passing abilities with three assists, although a couple of risky passes led to turnovers. He had four of those, plus a block and a steal on the defensive end.
Otega Oweh
After two standout performances in the preseason, Otega Oweh led all scorers with 21 points in his first real game in Lexington. Oweh was nearly perfect from the field on his high-scoring night, hitting eight of nine shots from the field, including all three of his 3-pointers. Oweh did a little bit of everything. He defended, hit his outside shots, attacked, rebounded, and made a lot of new fans who now call him their favorite player. He’s been the early surprise.
Back-to-back dunks by Williams and Oweh
Speaking of Williams and Oweh, their back-to-back dunks in the first half were highlights. Lamont Butler had just missed a wide-open dunk before Williams and Oweh showed him how to finish a fast break. First, Williams broke free after a long Wright State miss and finished off an outlet pass from Butler with a slam. Seconds later, Oweh jumped into a passing lane and stole the ball right back for a steal and slam before halftime.
Koby Brea’s look-away 3-pointer
The dunks were fun, but Koby Brea had the play of the night with his best Steph Curry impersonation, a lookaway 3-pointer in the second half. Brea turned to face the crowd as the ball was beginning its descent to the basket. Look at where the ball is in this screenshot of the 3.
Now, enjoy Brea’s 3-pointer at full speed. Don’t skip over the excellent pass from Kerr Krissa.
Koby Brea’s perfect 3-point shooting
Koby Brea made a splash (several of them, actually) in his first game as a Wildcat. The former Dayton sharpshooter was second on the team in scoring with 18 points. Even better, he came off the bench to hit all four of his 3-point tries after a cold-shooting preseason. Against Wright State, he showed why he is projected to lead the country in 3-point shooting in 2024-25. That look-away 3 was nuts.
Multiple Popes
The real Mark Pope looked good, wearing a suit and tie for his debut. These other Popes were better, though.
Yes, there were multiple Popes at Rupp. A Pope endorsement for president, too.
Kentucky’s defense (Butler and Oweh, specifically)
Butler and Oweh are a nasty backcourt duo, defensively. They’re so disruptive. They combined for six steals in Game 1, helping turn 12 Wright State turnovers into 18 Kentucky points. Oweh’s aforementioned steal-and-slam is an example of how their defense can quickly turn into two points the other way. They’ll be a nightmare for many backcourts this season.
A well-attended game
Attendance was officially listed at 19,635 people. The crowd passed the eye test, filling most of the upper-level bleachers, including the two end zones that were completely empty in the preseason. It was an excited crowd, too. The Big Blue Nation is whole again and eager to watch the Wildcats under Mark Pope.
Mark Pope honored with a commemorative barrel head
Following Pope’s first career win as Kentucky’s head coach, Mitch Barnhart recognized Pope at midcourt with a commemorative bourbon barrel head, celebrating the first of many victories.
Dancing Blue Coat
I’ll leave you with a member of UK’s Committee of 101 (a “Blue Coat”) participating in a dance-off during a second-half timeout. It’s proof that everyone is having fun around Kentucky Basketball again, even the people working at the game.
Go Cats.
