J.D. Hall 
Kentucky Basketball
Kentucky returned to the floor Tuesday night for Senior Night against LSU. The Wildcats celebrated their six seniors who have exhausted their eligibility: Ansley Almonor, Kobe Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jackson Robinson, and Amari Williams. Kentucky was also coming off a tough loss to Auburn on Saturday and looking to bounce back. They did so in a big way, rolling to a 95-63 victory.
It started early as Kentucky raced out to a 15-2 lead. LSU answered back, cutting the deficit to 18-10, but it was all Kentucky after that. The Wildcats responded with a 12-0 run to push the lead to 30-10. Kentucky was scoring at will—whether in transition, in the paint, or from beyond the arc.
On the other side, LSU struggled to get anything going. The Tigers shot just 37.9% from the field, 0-8 from three, and only 1-3 from the free-throw line. They also turned the ball over six times, leading to five Kentucky points. LSU managed just 0.676 points per possession in the first half.
Kentucky’s bench played a big role in the game. In the first half, the bench contributed 17 points: Collin Chandler had six, Brandon Garrison added eight, and Almonor chipped in three. The other seniors combined for 18 points—Williams scored seven, Brea had six, Carr added three, and Butler finished with two. Oweh bounced back from a poor performance, scoring 15 first-half points. He was also locked in on defense, pulling down six rebounds and tallying two steals.
The second half was more of the same, although LSU found some rhythm offensively. Cam Carter went 4-5 from three in the second half, while Jordan Sears also got going, scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting. However, it wasn’t enough.
Kentucky opened the second half on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 60-27. The lead remained between 30-34 points for most of the second half. Kentucky took its biggest lead—38 points—at 72-34 after a three-pointer by Butler. The Wildcats cruised the rest of the way, forcing another 10 turnovers from LSU.
On a night dedicated to celebrating the seniors, it was the underclassmen who led the way. Oweh finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was an efficient 9-11 from the floor and a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. Garrison contributed 15 points on 6-12 shooting, including 2-5 from three, while also dishing out four assists and collecting three steals. Collin Chandler, likely to receive most of Robinson’s minutes, did his best Robinson impersonation, scoring 11 points on 3-8 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arc.
Among the seniors, Almonor had the biggest impact, contributing 15 points on 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 from three—all in just 19 minutes.
It was a great way for not only the seniors but the entire team to close out their home schedule. However, there’s no time to bask in the victory, as Kentucky now travels to Columbia to take on a high-scoring Missouri squad in a game with significant SEC Tournament seeding implications. Depending on the outcome and results from other games, Kentucky could end up anywhere from the No. 5 seed to the No. 9 seed.
Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM Eastern on ESPN.
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