Coming off a heartbreaking loss last weekend, the Kentucky Wildcats returned to their home floor on Saturday evening to host the Utah Utes. Behind the tandem of Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro, Kentucky claimed a 88-61 victory over Utah.
Following sophomore point guard Quade Green’s transfer earlier in the week, some expected the Wildcats to play somewhat distracted on Saturday. However, early on, that was far from the case.
Kentucky did indeed fall behind early, trailing 10-2 three minutes int the contest. However, a 28-9 had Kentucky back in control before taking a halftime lead of 41-27. Johnson continued his hot shooting from last week’s outing, scoring 15 points in the first half on five made three point attempts.
In the second half, contributions from Herro, Immanuel Quickley, Johnson and Reid Travis led the Wildcats to their eighth victory of the season.
Ashton Hagans earned the start at point guard, responding well with seven assists to just two turnovers. Though he scored only two points, his efforts on defense made up for a lack of scoring.
Johnson finished the game with 24 points, leading all scorers. Herro (17), Travis (16) and Quickley (12) joined him with double figures.
While Travis played well, the rest of Kentucky’s front court mostly struggled. EJ Montgomery scored two points and grabbed five rebounds while Nick Richards was held scoreless and only had two rebounds. PJ Washington, after a career-high 29 points last weekend, scored just nine on Saturday with four rebounds.
The winning effort is certainly a bright spot following last week’s loss to Seton Hall, but the Wildcats won’t celebrate for long. Next Saturday, Kentucky travels to Chicago where they’ll face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the CBS Sports Classic.
Tip-off is set for 5:15 P.M. EDT.