FINAL: No. 8 Kentucky overcomes poor 3-point shooting night in 87-68 win over WKU

It finally happened: Kentucky had a bad night shooting the long ball. And yet, the Wildcats still won by 19 points.

On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, No. 8 Kentucky (6-0) overcame a rough shooting night and some sloppy play to take down Western Kentucky (3-3) by a final score of 87-68. UK shot just 8-29 from beyond the three-point line, marking the team’s fewest amount of made triples this season and the worst percentage of the season at just a 28 percent clip.

But Kentucky found plenty of points elsewhere. The ‘Cats went 29-42 from the free throw line — a season-high in both makes and attempts — while finding 34 points inside the paint. Otega Oweh led the way with 18 points on 6-14 shooting. Andrew Carr chipped in an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. Lamont Butler rounded out UK’s double-digit scorers with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

As a team, Kentucky shot 40 percent from the field while holding WKU to just 32 percent, which included a 4-26 mark from distance for the Hilltoppers. With the win, UK finished 3-0 in the inaugural BBN Invitational thanks to victories over WKU, Jackson State, and Lipscomb.

For what felt like the first time all season, Kentucky played a sloppy opening half of basketball. And yet the Wildcats still dropped 45 points through 20 minutes. WKU jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Kentucky took control, but it was never pretty, especially for Amari Williams, who had four of his team’s first-half turnovers and was 0-3 from the field.

The outside shots weren’t falling early for Kentucky either (4-14 at the break), so the offense went inside instead. Carr and Oweh both had nine points apiece by halftime as 20 of Kentucky’s points came inside the paint. UK also lived at the foul line, going 13-18 from the stripe. WKU went down by as many as 16 points with three minutes until the intermission but managed to cut that down to single digits before settling on a halftime score of 45-33 in favor of the ‘Cats.

The second half would start similarly to the first for Kentucky: ugly and semi-unorganized. UK couldn’t get anything to fall from deep and turned the ball over a few too many times while the Hilltoppers began to make a run. At the under 12-minute media timeout, WKU converted on an and-one that made it just a six-point game.

The comeback attempt didn’t last long though. A Koby Brea triple (3-7 from deep on the night for the Dayton transfer) pushed Kentucky’s advantage back to double-digits a couple of minutes later. Not long after, Oweh drilled a corner three that made it a 14-point lead and forced WKU into a timeout. The Wildcats would cruise the rest of the way to pick up its sixth straight win to start the season.

Up next: Kentucky will return to Rupp Arena on Friday for a post-Thanksgiving showdown with Georgia State (3-3). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.