Overview
- Kentucky beat North Carolina Central 103-67 in Lexington, with Jasper Johnson scoring a career-high 22 points and Otega Oweh adding 21.
- Mark Pope benched Brandon Garrison after a lack-of-effort sequence, and the junior big man did not return, underscoring a new accountability push.
- The Wildcats shot 61% from the field, logged 27 assists on 39 makes, and converted 13 NCCU turnovers into transition offense.
- Trent Noah was inserted into the starting lineup and hit three 3-pointers, Malachi Moreno posted 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kam Williams and Jaland Lowe saw reduced first-half minutes.
- The win snapped a two-game slide and moved Kentucky to 6-4 after dropping out of the AP Top 25, though a home date with Indiana will better gauge whether these changes hold.