Right off the bat, Koby Brea had the honor of taking the first shot of the Mark Pope era in the NCAA Tournament, a three-point attempt set up by Williams. It clanged off the rim, and Troy immediately responded by knocking down a triple of their own to set the tone.
Andrew Carr wasted no time getting Kentucky on the board, posting up strong for a basket and converting the and-1. Moments later, Carr was already doing damage on the defensive end, swatting away two layup attempts from the Trojans. His second block came following an Amari Williams turnover, but it kept the game locked at 5-3 with 16:42 to go, and Troy inbounding.
The first sub of the game brought in Travis Perry, and right away, Conterway scored his first bucket to tie things up before an Oweh layup put the Cats back up two. Freshman big man Brandon Garrison entered the fray and immediately launched a three — an airball. Troy raced down the court, scoring in transition to take their first lead. This seesaw battle was just getting started.
Oweh knocked down a smooth mid-range jumper to tie the game at nine, then got loose on the break for a layup off a slick pass from Carr. Troy turned it over again, allowing Kentucky to take an 11-9 lead with 14 minutes left. When Carr finally drained the game’s first three-pointer, the Cats were up 14-9, but Garrison’s outside struggles continued with another missed triple.
Troy went over three minutes without scoring, but Kentucky couldn’t take full advantage. After yet another Kentucky turnover, a three-pointer from the Trojans cut the lead to 14-12 with 12 minutes to go. The Cats kept missing their long-range shots, starting just 1-for-8 from deep.
The action picked up a bit when Oweh drove inside for a layup, giving Kentucky their biggest lead at 18-12. Troy answered with a three from Valdez to slice the lead to three. Brea’s cold shooting continued as he missed another three-pointer, but Conterway’s layup quickly brought it back down to a single point.
Amari Williams went 1-for-2 from the line to give Kentucky a two-point cushion, but disaster nearly struck as Williams fell hard on his tailbone on a fast break and stayed down for several minutes. With 7:58 to go, Kentucky held a slim 19-17 lead despite shooting just 7-of-18 from the field and being out-rebounded by a scrappy Troy squad.
Every time Kentucky seemed poised to pull away, Troy came right back. Brandon Garrison scored a pair of post buckets, but the Trojans answered with a score of their own to keep it tight at 25-21 with 4:26 to go. A missed floater by Butler led to an easy bucket for Troy, cutting it to 25-23.
The Wildcats’ outside shooting remained an issue, as they were just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. Allowing Troy to stick around could prove costly if the shooting woes continued. With the first half winding down, Oweh was the only Wildcat playing efficiently, going 4-of-5 from the field while his teammates combined for a 6-of-19 effort.
Noah picked up a foul, but Oweh quickly made up for it with a steal — only to give it right back, resulting in two free throws for Troy. Amari Williams then found Trent Noah wide open for a corner three, marking his first NCAA Tournament basket and giving Kentucky a 28-23 lead.
Carr followed that up with a corner three of his own after a steal, pushing the Cats’ advantage to seven. And just like that, Williams seized the moment, taking the ball coast-to-coast for a thunderous dunk, putting the Cats up by nine. He couldn’t complete the three-point play, but moments later found Brea cutting for a dunk to cap off a 10-0 Kentucky run.
Amari Williams takes it coast to coast! pic.twitter.com/HJNTQdALWs
— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) March 22, 2025
Troy hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to eight with 40 seconds left, but that’s where the first half ended. Kentucky went into the locker room with a 35-27 lead, having weathered early shooting struggles and turnover issues.
First Half Stats Breakdown
Kentucky's efficiency showed with 50.0% shooting from the field (14-28), compared to Troy’s rough 33.3% (11-33). Despite shooting struggles from deep (3-10), the Wildcats still managed a 30.0% clip, while Troy shot a disappointing 25.0% (4-16) from long range. Free throw shooting was another advantage for Kentucky, converting 4 of their 6 attempts, compared to Troy’s 1 of 2.
Both teams were tied in total rebounds at 19, but Troy had the edge on the offensive glass, snagging 3 compared to Kentucky’s 0. The Wildcats made up for it with superior defense, tallying 3 blocks to Troy’s 1.
Turnovers were relatively even, with Kentucky committing 5 to Troy’s 4, but the Cats managed to generate 5 points off those giveaways, compared to Troy’s 3. Kentucky also dominated the paint, scoring 20 points compared to Troy’s 12.
The Wildcats’ largest lead was 11 points, while Troy’s best was just a three-point margin. Can Kentucky clean things up in the second half and secure the win? Stay tuned!