The pregame was all about the past, but the second half was a glimpse into a very bright future.
After a sluggish start that had fans shifting in their seats, Kentucky (5-2) flipped the switch and absolutely buried Tennessee Tech 104-54. The Wildcats exploded for 61 points in the second half, turning a competitive game into a highlight reel.
Three-headed monster
Mark Pope has preached depth all season, and tonight, three different Wildcats led the way with 16 points each.
- Otega Oweh: Finally aggressive. He finished 6-of-11 from the field and got to the line, looking like the downhill threat we need him to be.
- Denzel Aberdeen: The transfer guard continues to be instant offense. He went 4-of-6 from deep and added 4 rebounds.
- Trent Noah: He was lethal, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three. When Noah is hitting, Rupp Arena reaches a different decibel level.
Next to the shooting, Kentucky also improved again on the boards. In one of the most encouraging stat of the night was on the boards. Kentucky outrebounded Tennessee Tech 48-23.
Malachi Moreno was a beast, grabbing 11 rebounds (4 offensive) to go with his 13 points. When Kentucky controls the glass like that, their transition offense becomes nearly unstoppable.
But the night didn't belong to either one of them.
The walk-on's moment
You know it’s a good night when Walker Horn is draining threes. The senior scored his first points in a Kentucky jersey with just over a minute to go as the shot clock was winding down. He came off a screen and caught the ball shooting it in one motion, and the crowd and bench went absolutely nuts when the ball went through the net.
In addition to Horn, Zach Tow who won a spot through try outs last year stepped up to the line to score his first point as a Kentucky Wildcat.
What a special night as Rupp lit up and roared for 2 walk-on players who finally got their moment.