On a night when No. 7 Gonzaga looked primed to capitalize on Kentucky starting point guard Lamont Butler’s absence due to an ankle injury, Mark Pope made some masterful chess moves to steal the No. 4 Wildcats a 90-89 overtime win in Seattle.
Kentucky erased a 16-point halftime deficit and scored the first seven points of overtime to secure its second win over a top-10 opponent in nonconference play. The Zags came out hot and got 28 points from center Graham Ike but could not match the Wildcats’ clutch shooting down the stretch.
Gonzaga led from three minutes into the game until 1:01 to play in regulation, when Andrew Carr’s turnaround bucket to tied the score at 79. Kentucky led throughout overtime, but Gonzaga hit its final three attempts from 3-point range to cut the Wildcats’ lead to one in the final seconds. Carr left the door open when he was sent to the free throw line with 4.3 seconds left and missed both, but he atoned by reaching from behind to strip the ball from Dusty Stromer, preventing Gonzaga from getting off a shot at the buzzer.
Below, three takeaways from the top-10 clash.
Kentucky’s key defensive change
The Zags dominated the first half, picking repeatedly on Butler’s replacement Kerr Kriisa. Gonzaga scored 18 points on ball-screen plays when point guard Ryan Nembhard was guarded by Kriisa — Nembhard scored three buckets of his own and made passes that led to 12 more points — which helped build a 50-34 halftime lead.
Kriisa switched onto Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman to start the second half, and the Zags hunted him right away, with Hickman rejecting a ball screen and blowing right past Kriisa for a layup.
Then, Pope found a solution.
Kentucky switched to a 1-3-1 defense, changing to man-to-man after the first pass. That reduced the number of times Kriisa ended up on Nembhard, and it helped take the ball out of the hands of the nation’s assist leader. Without their 3-point shots falling — Gonzaga started 3 of 24 from deep — the Zags pounded the ball inside, but the switching defenses (Pope also used a few possessions of straight zone) allowed Kentucky to get enough stops to chip away at the lead.
The Wildcats found their offensive rhythm in the second half, often playing through bigs Andrew Carr and Amari Williams. Carr finished with 19 points, three assists and seven rebounds, and Williams added 12 points. Jaxson Robinson, who followed Pope from BYU, took over at point guard (Kriisa left the game with his own injury with 8:46 left in regulation) and made some big plays as well, finishing with 18 points and five assists.
Where both teams go from here
After a loss at Clemson earlier this week in the SEC/ACC Men’s Challenge, this was a huge bounceback win for the Wildcats, as well as an encouraging sign they can survive without Butler. The San Diego State transfer sets the tone for their defense and is arguably their most important player. Per CBB Analytics, Kentucky had been plus-155 with Butler on the floor this season, and the defense was allowing 86.8 points per 100 possessions, compared to 98.5 when he went to the bench. Pope may have also found something with Robinson running the point.
Gonzaga will have a week before one of its last two chances at a marquee nonconference win, a trip to New York next Saturday to face UConn at Madison Square Garden. The Zags also play a neutral-site game against UCLA on Dec. 28 in Inglewood, Calif.
Pope’s charmed start at Kentucky continues
Add Saturday night to the list of reasons Kentucky fans are falling in love with Pope, who is getting the most out of this group. First, the Wildcats rallied to a 77-72 Champions Classic win against Duke, made more dramatic by in-the-huddle video that captured Pope playing the defensive whisperer and predicting Cooper Flagg’s spin move that Otega Oweh stepped in front of for the game-winning steal.
This game provided an even stronger endorsement of his ability to make in-game adjustments. Pope is known for his offense, but he’s proving he can coach defense, too.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
