LEXINGTON, Ky. — The No. 9 Kentucky men's basketball team opened the season with a 77-51 win over Nicholls. Collin Chandler led the Wildcats with 15 points.
The first half felt like a boxing match where both were trying to figure their opponents out. Kentucky hit just 3 of its first 13 shots but held the Colonels to 1 of their first 10. It was just 8-4 Wildcats at the under eight timeout.
Kentucky would then go on a bit of a scoring stretch while holding Nicholls scoreless from the field for more than ten minutes. Jasper Johnson made a couple of lay-ups to extend the UK lead to 19-10. Denzel Aberdeen, back in the lineup after an injury, would make a lay-up and Collin Chandler followed with three pointer to give Kentucky a 13 point advantage 25-12 with 1:18 remaining. A slam nearly at the buzzer on an alley-oop from Johnson to Brandon Garrison would maintain that advantage at the break. Kentucky up 28-15.
UK was led in the first half by Johnson and Aberdeen with five points each. The Cats held Nicholls to just 3-25 for 12% shooting from the field. Both teams were not good behind the three point line combining for 3-of-30.
The second half started at a much better pace and better scoring for both teams—especially the Wildcats. Four different Cats scored the first four buckets. Otega Oweh scored nine points in seven minutes of play. That included a three and a couple of free throws.
The Wildcats quickly extended that lead to put it away early in the second half. But, the highlight of the night was when Collin Chandler drove the lane, hung in the air and slammed it one handed on a Nicholls defender to get the Rupp Arena crowd roaring.
Aside from Chandler's 15 points, three other Wildcats were in double figures. Oweh finished with 13, Johnson had 11 and Aberdeen had 10 in his UK debut. The UK defense held the Colonels to just 30% shooting from the field.
Kentucky is back in Rupp Arena on Friday night to host Valparaiso. Tip off is 7:00 PM and streaming only on the SEC Network plus. Then, it's the rivalry game with Louisville next Tuesday.
