Kentucky makes 21 3-pointers, wins by 71 points in Mark Pope's unofficial UK debut

The Mark Pope era unofficially started with a bang, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 123-52 on Wednesday night in the first of two exhibition games for Kentucky this preseason.

Kentucky made 21 3-pointers during the contest, which would have tied a regular season record for the Wildcats in Pope’s Rupp Arena debut. They shot 50% (21-42) from deep and only turned the ball over five times as Big Blue Nation watched on.

The first-year Kentucky head coach joined his former teammate Cameron Mills and UK Sports Network’s Darren Headrick after the beatdown to recap the exciting Wednesday night in Lexington.

“Our guys were really disciplined on the offensive end about not bailing out,” Pope said postgame. “Taking tough, two-person challenge shots at the rim, but getting two feet and making plays for their guys, so I’m super proud of that. We got to a space where we lost a little bit of our communication against their Princeton style and we get them a few baskets with the rim that we don’t like. But I was proud of our guys in the way they responded and fixed it.

“We had a little stress, but for the most part, I really enjoyed our guy’s focus and intensity all night long.”

Jaxson Robinson was the team’s leading scorer, logging 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including five-made 3-pointers during the contest. He joined the UK crew during the postgame as well, reacting to the barrage of 3-pointers the Wildcats put up against Kentucky Wesleyan.

“It’s a team full of shooters,” Robinson said. “We practice it every day. We put in the work So, I mean, it’s nothing that we’re not used to.”

During the preseason, Pope said that he wants the Wildcats to average 35 3-point attempts during the regular season. With 42 in the exhibition opener, they’re well on their way of achieving that goal.

Not only that, but Kentucky logged 32 assists during the contest — although Robinson didn’t log a single one as the only player to attempt of 10 shots. Although, Robinson is not much of an assister, averaging 1.2 per game during his four-year career.

Meanwhile, PG Lamont Butler and PF Amari Williams were the team’s leading assisters, putting up six a piece. Williams did a little bit of everything is his debut in Kentucky blue, scoring 12 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Butler did much of the same with an 11-6-6 stat line while leading the point.

Eight Wildcats would go on to score in double figures, including Otega Oweh (18), Andrew Carr (10), Kobe Brea (13), Trent Noah (12) and Ansley Almonor (15).

They’ll take on Minnesota State Mankato in the final exhibiton before the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET.