BOX SCORE: Kentucky's defense bottles up Troy in Mark Pope's first NCAA Tournament win

There was plenty of nervous energy in the Big Blue Nation leading into Friday night’s game against No. 14 seed Troy. Just one year ago, Kentucky failed to defeat No. 14 seed Oakland as Jack Gohlke became a March Madness star. That happened just two years after Doug Edert went nuts for Saint Peter’s.

There was no Jack Gohlke or Doug Edert in 2025. Mark Pope earned his first NCAA Tournament victory at Fiserv Forum, but Kentucky’s top-10 offense earned that victory with defense.

Troy entered the contest as a bad shooting team. Kentucky made the Trojans look like a bad shooting team in the 76-57 victory.

The Sun Belt champion finished the game with 57 points in 65 possessions (0.88 points per possession) on 14-of-31 (45.2%) shooting from two, 8-of-32 (25%) shooting from three, and 5-of-9 (55.6%) shooting from the free throw line. A team that ranked No. 7 in offensive rebound percentage only recorded a 25.6 percent offensive rebound rate with those 11 extended possessions leading to just 10 second chance points. Leading scorer Tayton Conereay needed 12 shots to get to 12 points. Leading three-point shooter Thomas Dowd finished the game without a made shot in seven attempts.

Troy simply could not score.

You are not beating this Kentucky team unless you can score. Despite a slow first half for the Kentucky offense, the lid came off the basket when Trent Noah hit a three-pointer with 3:03 left in the first half to start a kill shot run (10-0) for UK. The Cats outscored the Trojans by 15 points from that point moving forward.

.@trentnoah2_ and @apc_andrew going back to back from deep 🔥🔥🔥

📺 – @MarchMadnessMBB, @CBSSportsCBB
pic.twitter.com/WgkmFHr7mi

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 22, 2025

Kentucky scored 76 points in 68 possessions (1.12 points per possession) on 18-of-33 (54.5%) shooting from two, 10-of-26 (38.5%) shooting from three, and 10-of-16 (62.5%) shooting from the free throw line. Otega Oweh (20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) stuffed the box score. Andrew Carr (13 points on 7 shots), Brandon Garrison (13 points on 7 shots), and Koby Brea (13 points on 9 shots) all had efficient performances. Collin Chandler (9 points in 10 minutes) gave the Cats a big lift off the bench. The two-point shooting numbers would’ve looked a lot better if not for 2-of-10 combined shooting from Lamont Butler and Amari Williams.

Pope’s team didn’t have their best stuff on offense but the Cats did pour in 10 threes, took care of the ball (10 turnovers) against a good pressure defense, and recorded 23 assists on 28 field goals. Even on an off night, this team is getting close to 80. Troy had no chance to pull the upset because they could not score against Kentucky.

The Cats advanced with defense in Milwaukee.

Box Score: Kentucky vs. Troy