Highlights, Box Score, and Game MVP from Kentucky’s win over IUP

Kentucky may have found its go-to player.

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Nov 2, 2018, 9:43pm EDT

Kentucky took a challenge from IUP but still came out on top.

The Crimson Hawks gave the Wildcats all they could handle in the final tuneup before they take on Duke on Tuesday in the Champions Classic.

The Wildcats struggled defensively, as IUP was able to consistently get good looks from the perimeter and knocked down shots when they got the opportunity.

Offensively, the Wildcats bounced back from a poor shooting performance at Transylvania and found some rhythm shooting from the perimeter, led by Tyler Herro.

While it was a less than thrilling performance, there’s no cause to alarm just yet. This team is going to be fine. The guys will come around and shine bright on the big stage.

Box Score

Game MVP

MVP for tonight’s game goes to Reid Travis, who finished with a double double (22 points, 14 rebounds) and showed how dominant he can be down low, scoring and grabbing rebounds, several of which came from just simply outworking the guys around him.

Travis appears to be one of the guys that looks ready for Tuesday’s matchup with Duke. Travis looks a lot more like himself over the last two exhibition games as he did in the Bahamas.

The way Travis has been playing, it looks like the Wildcats will rely on Travis early and often in the early part of the season as the team comes together.

If he continues to perform like this, he should be an excellent player for the Wildcats to lean on as they move forward. They’ll certainly be learning on him heavily on Tuesday against Duke in what will be a monster atmosphere that he’s been part of before.