No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats Beat Valparaiso Crusaders 87-63

Kentucky made several mistakes from the start, including missing multiple three-pointers, but that didn’t stop the No. 6 Wildcats from cruising to a comfortable 87-63 home victory over the Valparaiso Crusaders on Wednesday night.

No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats Beat Valparaiso Crusaders 87-63

Bam Adebayo scored 16 points, Malik Monk added 15 and had 21 consecutive points during a first-half run.

Needing to rebound following Saturday’s upset by then-No. 11 UCLA, Kentucky (8-1) turned a 4-all tie and seven turnovers in the first 4 minutes into a 29-9 lead behind that big run over 8:51, keeping Valparaiso scoreless for 7 minutes during that stretch. The Wildcats eventually built a 34-point lead midway through the second half, and also recorded 19 turnovers and nine blocks.

“I was kind of surprised (by the UCLA loss) because that’s not us,” said senior guard Dominique Hawkins, who had six points, four assists and three rebounds. “We usually come in and put pressure on the ball and make the ball handler feel uncomfortable. … When they did get in the lane, it was usually a blocked shot or you had to throw a half-floater over one of our bigs.”

The Crusaders (7-2) shot just 28 percent in the first half and finished 23 of 67 from the field (34 percent). It marked Valparaiso’s second-lowest field goal percentage this season.

“Our game plan coming in was making sure we took good shots so they couldn’t fly up the court,” said first-year Valpo coach Matt Lottich, who is only 34. “I thought in the first half we took a lot of quick shots, they sped us up a lot and really got out and got in good in transition.”

Among Kentucky’s weaknesses seems to be its inability to consistently score jumpers from the perimeter. Nevertheless, Wildcats coach John Calipari remained satisfied with his team’s victory.

“This was a heckuva win for us,” Calipari said before later adding, “There were signs today that we could be really good.”

Derek Willis added 12 points and Isaiah Briscoe scored 10 for Kentucky, who shot 46 percent after making just 41 percent against UCLA.

Valpo forward Alec Peters scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half to help the Crusaders snap their four-game winning streak eight days after upsetting No. 21 Rhode Island. The nation’s second-leading scorer entering (25.4 points per game) went to the locker room briefly during the second half with what Lottich believed was a leg cramp, but returned to cap off his ninth 20-point performance in as many games.

Kentucky power forward Wenyen Gabriel started and had two of his career-best three blocks by halftime and added six rebounds. The Wildcats also controlled the boards 48-41.

Valparaiso next visits Missouri State on Saturday night, while Kentucky will face off against Hofstra in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday.

LEXINGTON, KY – DECEMBER 07: De’Aaron Fox #0 of the Kentucky Wildcats and Max Joseph #3 of the Valparaiso Crusadersreach for a loose ball during the game at Rupp Arena on December 7, 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena