LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Jackson State
And just like that, it’s time to watch Kentucky Basketball again. KSR’s new and improved LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as the Cats host the Jackson State Tigers in the BBN Invitational (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Earlier this week, Kentucky cruised to its fourth win of the season, a 97-68 victory over Lipscomb. Tonight, they’ll face a Jackson State team that has yet to win a game, losing to No. 4 Houston, High Point, Xavier, Vanderbilt, and most recently, Western Kentucky. Mo Williams’ team is struggling, which could make for another 100-point game for the Cats, who have crossed the century mark twice this season.
For the last time this season, tonight’s game streams exclusively on SEC Network+; if you’re unable to watch, we’ve got you covered. Refresh the feed below for updates and our takes on the game, from both Rupp Arena and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread or by texting your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).
FINAL: Kentucky 108, Jackson State 59
11/22/2024 07:53:27 PMThat was fun. Kentucky made a season-high 17 threes en route to a season-high 108 points vs. Jackson State. A strong second half by Koby Brea pushed his point total to a team-high 22 on 8-11 from the floor, 5-8 from three. Otega Oweh wasn’t far behind with 21 points on 8-12. The Cats shot 57.7% from the floor, 43.6% from three.
Lots to like in this box score, although Mark Pope will probably bring up offensive rebounding. The Cats only had four offensive boards to Jackson State’s 13.
Travis Perry puts Kentucky over the century mark
11/22/2024 07:47:36 PMA three-pointer by Travis Perry pushed Kentucky over the 100-point mark for the third game this season. About a minute later, Trent Noah followed suit with a three of his own to make it 106-57 with 51.2 seconds to go.
Koby Brea Takeover
11/22/2024 07:42:15 PMIt’s well-established that Koby Brea is the best shooter in college basketball, but he’s just getting silly now. Brea’s fourth and fifth threes barely touched the net. He’s up to 22 points on 8-11 from the floor, 5-8 from three.
Kentucky leads 96-57 with 2:55 to go.
Kentucky ties its season high with 13 threes
11/22/2024 07:36:34 PMKoby Brea just hit his third three, which took Kentucky’s total to 13, which ties the season-high set vs. Bucknell. There’s still six-plus minutes left. The figure Mark Pope will likely be happier with is the 35 attempts. All week, Pope has been harping on his team to shoot more. They certainly have tonight.
Cats are cruising, leading 88-48 with six minutes to go. Travis Perry is about to check in.
Meanwhile, a look at the future
11/22/2024 07:33:18 PMIf we’re being honest, this game has gotten a little boring, but this clip of Jasper Johnson blocking a shot down at OTE woke me up.
Score Update: 9:00 2H – Kentucky 81, Jackson State 44
11/22/2024 07:27:11 PMKentucky’s getting a little sloppy but still leads by 37, 81-44 with nine minutes to go. This game is good in that the Cats are going to win comfortably but Mark Pope will still have enough mistakes to show his team on film tomorrow.
Kentucky has made at least 10 threes in five straight games
11/22/2024 07:25:17 PMKoby Brea’s three was Kentucky’s tenth, which extends the streak of games with 10+ threes to five. That’s the best to start a season in Kentucky history.
Cats lead 75-42 with 11:45 remaining.
What did the rims do to this team?
11/22/2024 07:15:49 PMAmari Williams just joined the dunk fest, slamming down his own miss to bring the Rupp Arena crowd to its feet. With 12:37 to play, Kentucky has nine dunks and leads Jackson State 71-42.
Hitting the rule of 71 with 12 and a half minutes to go just hits different.
Score Update: 15:52 2H – Kentucky 62, Jackson State 35
11/22/2024 07:09:22 PMAnother dunk, this one by Otega Oweh, makes it Kentucky 62, Jackson State 35 with 15:52 remaining. The Cats are on a 6-0 run.
Another look at that Lamont Butler dunk:
Lexington has turned into Dunk City
11/22/2024 07:05:00 PMBack-to-back dunks by Kentucky have pushed the lead to 58-33 with 18:14 to go. The first was by Jaxson Robinson. The second? Lamont Butler. The 6’2″ guard has hops!
Halftime vibe check from Austin
11/22/2024 06:58:25 PMThe Football Boys are enjoying themselves in Austin, TX this evening. C-A-T-S chants are alive and well. Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, and Drew Franklin are having too much fun. The blue hat also made a return, folks.
This game has been very, very weird
11/22/2024 06:50:20 PMBut when Kentucky is winning by 24 points, we’re okay with weird. From the shoe-throwing to the wire mishap behind one of the backboards, it’s been the silly kind of weird. Otega Oweh threw a pass behind his back while going out of bounds that led to a bucket. Kentucky fired up 20 first-half three-pointers. During halftime, fans were pushing actual yams with their heads across the Rupp Arena floor to win a prize. We all knew this was how the actual basketball game would go down, so maybe some comic relief is exactly what this night needed.
HALF: Kentucky 54, Jackson State 30
11/22/2024 06:45:25 PMIt’s halftime at Rupp Arena and Kentucky is cruising, leading Jackson State 54-30. Otega Oweh leads all scorers with 13 points. Jaxson Robinson has nine, Ansley Almonor eight. The Cats also have eight threes and are shooting 59.5% from the floor. Easy breezy on a Friday night.
We just had a timeout to fix a loose wire
11/22/2024 06:41:28 PMA wire came loose on the goal, so we had an officials timeout to address it. Shoutout to Brandon Garrison and Andrew Carr, who worked together to tuck the wire safely back into place. Teamwork.
Otega Oweh scores nine straight points
11/22/2024 06:37:24 PMThe lead is now 22, 48-26, with four minutes to go in the first half. Otega Oweh just went on a scoring frenzy, scoring nine straight for the Cats, to take his total to 13. He’s 6-7 from the floor and will get a much-deserved breather.
Score Update: 6:59 1H – Kentucky 41, Jackson State 18
11/22/2024 06:30:43 PMThe Cats are cruising at the under-eight timeout, leading Jackson State 41-18. Kentucky is shooting a ridiculous 72.7% from the floor, 58.3% from three.
Who throws a shoe, honestly?
11/22/2024 06:27:01 PMKudos to Matt Sak for spotting No. 14 for Jackson State, Dylan Cannoville, throwing a shoe at Brandon Garrison. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Score Update: 8:59 1H – Kentucky 33, Jackson State
11/22/2024 06:25:01 PMKentucky is up to seven threes on 12 attempts, well on their goal of 30-35 attempts Mark Pope talked about earlier this week. The Cats are shooting a blistering 68.4% from the floor.
Big ovation for Kenny Walker, Purvis Short
11/22/2024 06:22:37 PMAs mentioned earlier, Kenny “Sky” Walker and Purvis Short, a Jackson State alum, are being recognized tonight as part of the Unity Series. Both got a big ovation from the Rupp Arena crowd. Walker is now on the SEC Network+ broadcast. He just joked that he watches the 1989 NBA Dunk Contest (which he won) on loop on YouTube.
Score Update: 11:48 1H – Kentucky 23, Jackson State 12
11/22/2024 06:17:41 PMThe Cats are up to five threes already thanks to a trey by Ansley Almonor. Koby Brea, known for his work outside the arc, just drove the lane for a layup to push Kentucky’s lead to 11, 23-12.
Score Update: 15:20 1H – Kentucky 15, Jackson State 7
11/22/2024 06:10:06 PMKentucky’s offense is finding its groove, going on a 12-2 run over the last 2:28. After a bounce-back performance vs. Lipscomb, Jaxson Robinson is off to a hot start, with two threes so far to lead Kentucky with six points. Lamont Butler has five, and Otega Oweh four.
Governor Andy Beshear is in the house
11/22/2024 06:08:36 PMGovernor Andy Beshear brought his family to Rupp Arena for tonight’s game. I know it’s casual Friday, but did he forget to shave?
Kentucky goes on a 7-0 run
11/22/2024 06:06:51 PMJust like that, Kentucky went on a 7-0 run, scoring four points off two Jackson State turnovers to take control. Kentucky 10, Jackson State 5 with 16:40 to go in the first half.
Gaaah, Jackson State leads!
11/22/2024 06:05:06 PMKentucky forced a shot clock violation on Jackson State’s first possession, but a three and two ree throws have Jackson State in front 5-3 at the 18-minute mark. Upset brewing?!?!
(I’m kidding.)
Same Starting Five
11/22/2024 05:43:54 PMIf it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Kentucky’s starting lineup is once again:
00 Otega Oweh
01 Lamont Butler
02 Jaxson Robinson
07 Andrew Carr
22 Amari Williams
Pregame warmups are underway at Rupp
11/22/2024 05:38:42 PMVibes are good inside Rupp Arena with 30 minutes to go until tip-off.
Who will step up tonight for the Cats?
Pope talks Kenny Walker, Purvis Short
11/22/2024 05:23:28 PMDuring his pregame talk with Darren Headrick, Mark Pope shared some stories about Kenny Walker and Purvis Short, who will be honored tonight. Pope remembers Walker, Jamal Mashburn, and Rex Chapman coming back to campus to work out with the team when from his playing days in Lexington (to be a fly on that wall) and, once Pope was in the league, Short as a member of a group of NBA personnel that would make the rounds educating players on financing, media obligations, etc.
Can Kentucky cover a 34.5-point spread?
11/22/2024 05:20:12 PMIn case you missed it, the Cats are a massive favorite tonight. With 40 minutes until tip, the line is Kentucky -34.5 and the Cats’ team total is 95.5 points. That sounds like a lot, but Jackson State is statistically one of the worst teams in college basketball, ranking No. 322 in KenPom. Cats to cover and over team total may once again be safe tonight.
Kenny Walker, Purvis Short to be recognized tonight
11/22/2024 05:13:03 PMThis game is the fourth installment of the Unity Series, which aims to raise awareness of the missions of the HBCUs and to raise funds to provide opportunities for students at their institutions. As part of it, Kentucky will recognize two greats: Kenny “Sky” Walker and fellow top-five NBA Draft pick Purvis Short, a Jackson State legend. After his career as a Tiger, Short played 12 seasons in the NBA, racking up 14,607 points.
Both Walker and Short spoke to Dave Baker and Cameron Mills on the official UK pregame show, during which we learned that Walker is now an honorary member of the Committee of 101, blue coat and all. He may not know exactly where your seat is in the building, but he can tell you a heck of a story about his days as a Wildcat.
Got a good take? Send it to the KSR Text Machine
11/22/2024 05:06:56 PMDo you have such an amazing observation about the game that it needs to be shared with the masses? Send it to the KSR text machine (859-587-3828) and if I deem it good enough, it’ll make the live blog. We’ll also be sharing the best comments from the KSBoard Game Thread, the best place to interact with BBN during games.
Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer and continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. $1 for seven days and 50% off an entire year.
Last SEC Network+ game of the season
11/22/2024 05:00:44 PMCherish this moment, friends. This will be the final time this season you have to pull up the ESPN app and remember your login info to watch a Kentucky Basketball game. That’s right; no more SEC Network+ games after this one. As a reminder, if you have SEC Network through your cable subscription, you will be able to watch the game through the ESPN app on your phone, tablet, or TV via a streaming device.
If you don’t want to bother with that, you can listen to Darren Headrick (filling in for Tom Leach, who is in Austin) and Goose Givens on the radio or, of course, follow this here live blog. We’ve got you covered.
Streaming: SEC Network+/ESPN+ (Andrew Kappes, Cameron Mills)
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Darren Headrick, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 or 191
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
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