LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky beat Fairleigh Dickinson from here to the Keeneland quarter pole. The final score Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena was Kentucky 83, FDU 52.
The Wildcats led for all for all but 137 seconds. They missed their first two shots and then scored the next four times they had the ball.
There was more talk about which bowl will select Mark Stoops’ football team Sunday than there was about the competitiveness of this basketball game. Kentucky beat the No. 268 team in the nation the way you are supposed to beat a team that lost to Fordham, Army and Lafayette.
"It was a Kentucky festival today," FDU coach Greg Herrenda said. "It was a Christmas parade. They outfought us and outfinished us in every phase of the game."
E.J. Montgomery had a monstrous game, showing confidence and versatility around the rim. He scored 25 points with nine rebounds, missing a double-double because of the 10 minutes he was on the bench.
Nick Richards scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game. Credit him 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Keion Brooks Jr., a freshman reserve, had the best afternoon of his eight-game career, scoring 15 points with five rebounds.
So what did we learn about John Calipari’s team? Nothing, really.
Kentucky's Ashton Hagans was once committed to Georgia but he outplayed the Bulldogs' Anthony Edwards Tuesday night. (AP Photo/James Crisp)
Consider it another victory against a team that's unlikely to make the 2020 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats (7-1) started the season by showing the world how overrated Michigan State was. Since then they have not played a team that is going to make legitimate noise in March.
What we learned about the Wildcats this week is only this: We won’t find out how good Kentucky is for two or three weeks.
Dec. 21 against Ohio State in Las Vegas.
Dec. 28 against Louisville in Rupp.
"Those are two of the best teams in the country," UK coach John Calipari said.
"And you know why? Both teams fight. Both teams are unbelievably coached. Both teams are ... they're screening. They're creating good shots for each other.
"If you walk in that game with any coolness, you'll get beat by 30."
Until then, we’re all just guessing. The Wildcats’ next game will be against Georgia Tech next Saturday. If you were following the scores Saturday, you likely noticed the Yellow Jackets fell 34 points short of defeating four-loss Syracuse.
After that, UK plays Utah, which has losses to Coastal Carolina and Tulane. Then the serious basketball will begin: Ohio State followed by Louisville.
No. 6 followed by No. 1 — if you looked at last Monday’s Associated Press college basketball Top 25.
Or, No. 1 followed by No. 2 — if you looked at Ken Pomeroy’s computer formula, which bumped the Buckeyes to No. 1 ahead of Chris Mack’s Cardinals after Ohio State followed up its 25-point road win against North Carolina by burying (7-1) Penn State by 32 points in Columbus Saturday.
Those are the two most prominent of the 14 remaining unbeaten Division I teams. We’ll know what Calipari has after the Wildcats play the Buckeyes and Cardinals.
On Saturday, Montgomery looked like a guy ready to play his best basketball. He showed a solid hook shot. He finished strongly at the rim. He attacked off the dribble.
"We didn't give him any resistance," Herrenda said. "He was just making shot after shot. He was too comfortable."
That does not figure to be the situation in two weeks in Las Vegas or in three weeks in Rupp Arena. That's when we'll learn what Kentucky has this season.
"We've got a tough road ahead of us," Calipari said.
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