Kentucky’s next exhibition test comes Wednesday against a UCF team that looks a lot like the kind of problem Mark Pope wants his group to solve before the season begins.
The Wildcats are coming off a 76-65 win over Texas Tech in Rupp Arena last Friday, a game that started with Kentucky fighting through early trouble from deep and some stagnant ball movement before the offense settled in after halftime. That turnaround helped the Wildcats finish off the No. 19 Red Raiders, and now they turn to another experienced opponent.
UCF brings plenty of veteran presence into Lexington. The roster includes eight seniors and one fifth-year player in Riley Kugel, a name Kentucky fans may recognize from his Florida days.
The Golden Knights also feature a familiar recruiting target in John Bol, who is part of the UCF frontcourt and stands 7-2. He teams with 6-9 Isaiah Malone to give the Knights size inside, and the pair combined for 13 rebounds in UCF’s recent 85-81 loss to LSU.
That rebounding battle is something to watch closely. Kentucky had some trouble on the glass against Texas Tech despite facing an undersized team, and if that trend carries over, it could open the door for extra possessions for a UCF offense that clearly wants to score in bunches.
Pope has set the expectation for his team to launch 30-plus 3-pointers a game, and that fits right into what UCF likes to do as well. Against LSU, the Knights attempted 32 threes while putting up 81 points.
They came out hot in the first half, hitting 9 of 19 from beyond the arc, then cooled off badly after the break and went 2 of 13 the rest of the way. They also did not get to the free-throw line much in that game, another detail worth keeping in mind before Wednesday.
For Kentucky, the formula is pretty straightforward: get the offense moving early, find a rhythm from three and don’t give UCF clean looks from the perimeter. The Knights have size and shooting, and that combination is enough to make this matchup more difficult than it might look on paper if the Wildcats are slow to lock in.
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