Kentucky vs Valparaiso Basketball Game Highlights
The Kentucky Wildcats hosted the Valparaiso Beacons in a nonconference college basketball game at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky Basketball's Recent Performance
Before facing Valparaiso, Kentucky played two preseason exhibitions against Purdue and Georgetown University, followed by an opening win over Nicholls. Across these games, the Wildcats have attempted many three-pointers, as coach Mark Pope aims for the team to shoot at least 30 triples per game. However, their accuracy has been lacking.
- Against Purdue, Kentucky made 9 of 29 three-point attempts (31%).
- Versus Georgetown, they converted 7 of 30 (23.3%).
- In the win over Nicholls, the Wildcats made only 7 of 27 attempts (25.9%).
The team's three-point shooting was particularly poor in the first half of the Nicholls game, hitting just 2 of 16 attempts (12.5%).
"We were a little bit of a bubbling mess, which should happen sometimes. It was everything," said coach Mark Pope about the offense in the first half of the opener. "We actually had some good possessions where we just didn't finish them. It was a lot of different things, but mostly, it was just us kind of establishing a feel for the game and really dialing in on being incredibly aggressive and (making) plays for our teammates."
Looking Ahead to Valparaiso Game
As Kentucky (1-0) prepares to face Valparaiso (1-0) at Rupp Arena, the team hopes to improve its three-point shooting with the return of Jaland Lowe.
Author’s summary: Kentucky basketball shows aggressive play but struggles from beyond the arc; improvements expected as they prepare for Valparaiso at home.