KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
NCAA TOURNAMENT | FISERV FORUM | MILWAUKEE, WISC.
MARCH 21, 2025
FINAL SCORE: No. 18/21 Kentucky 76, Troy 57
Team Records and Series Notes
– Kentucky and Troy each have a 23-11 overall record.
– Kentucky leads the series, 2-0. The previous matchup Nov. 20, 2017, with UK winning 70-62.
– Mark Pope is 210-119 as head coach, including 23-11 at Kentucky.
– Next for Kentucky: on Sunday, University of Illinois.
Kentucky and Coach Mark Pope in the NCAA Tournament
– Kentucky is now 131-55 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
– Kentucky holds NCAA records for most tournament appearances (62) and most games played (186). UK is second for most victories (131) and fourth in winning percentage (.704, 131-55, min. 20 tournament games).
– UK is 50-12 in its opening game in the tourney (regardless of seeding/position in the bracket).
– UK is 7-4 as a No. 3 seed in the tournament since seedings began in 1980.
– Coach Mark Pope earned his first win in the NCAA Tournament and is now 1-2 in the tourney.
Team Notes
– The 19-point margin of victory is Kentucky’s largest in an NCAA Tournament game since a 35-point win over Abilene Christian (79-44) in 2019.
– Kentucky limited Troy to 34.9 percent shooting (22 of 63). UK is now 6-0 this season when keeping the opponent under 36 percent.
– Kentucky held Troy to 25 percent on 3-pointers (8 of 32). UK is 13-1 this season when keeping the opponent to 25 percent or less.
– Kentucky won the rebounding battle, 39-38. UK is 16-4 this season when topping in rebounding.
– Kentucky totaled 23 assists tonight, most since having 25 in the win over Florida on Jan. 4.
– With 10 3-pointers tonight, it was UK’s 19 th game this season with double-digit 3s.
– UK now has 327 long balls this season, tying last season’s team for the second-most in school history. The 1992-93 team holds the record with 340 made 3-pointers.
Player Notes
– Otega Oweh totaled 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, the first Wildcat to reach all four of those marks in an NCAA Tournament game.- It is his 13 th 20-point game of the season, his fourth in the last five games.
– Andrew Carr tallied 13 points, his fourth-straight double-figure game and 21 st of
the season. He also had a season-best three blocked shots.
– Koby Brea had 13 points and four assists. He had his 26th game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.
– Very active in his 15 minutes of action, Brandon Garrison accumulated 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.
– Collin Chandler scored nine points in a two-minute span in the second half, part of the 16-0 run that opened a 22-point lead. The nine points are his second-most this season, only surpassed by 11 vs. LSU on March 4.
– Lamont Butler returned to action and played 25 minutes. Showing the importance of his steady presence on both ends of the court, he had a team-high +22 in the plus-minus statistic even though he didn’t score a point.
In the First Half
– Kentucky’s starters were Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams for the fifth time this season. UK is 4-1 with this lineup.
– First substitutions were Brandon Garrison and Travis Perry at 16:42.
– With Kentucky leading 25-24, the Wildcats caught fire with a 10-0 run.
– Kentucky went to halftime ahead 35-27.
– There were five ties and three lead changes in the first half.
– UK is now 20-1 on the year when leading at the half.
In the Second Half
– Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
– With Troy having pulled within 45-39, Kentucky went on a 16-0 run for a 61-39 lead with 8:04 remaining.
– Collin Chandler started the spurt when he entered the game at 13:07, and in two minutes he hit a 3-pointer, got fouled on a 3 and made all three foul shots, and hit another 3-pointer.
– The 16-0 run ties the second-longest spurt of the season (17-0 vs. Colgate, 16-0 vs. Florida).
Troy fought back with nine straight points, cutting the gap to 61-48 and forcing a
UK timeout with 5:39 to go.
– Kentucky quelled the advance with a 12-0 run and went on to victory.