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The Kentucky Wildcats are now 7-1 following their blowout win over Fairleigh Dickinson inside Rupp Arena.
With the December schedule set to feature four matchups with teams from Power 5 conferences — two of which are currently ranked in the top 10 (Louisville and Ohio State) — this was the final cupcake game of Kentucky’s season. Instead of looking ahead to those tougher matchups and overlooking a weaker team, Kentucky instead came out with great energy and overwhelmed the Knights from start to finish.
The first half was total domination, as Kentucky took a 43-23 lead into halftime, and the second half was more of the same en route to an 83-52 victory.
Kentucky’s frontcourt was the story of the game, as EJ Montgomery (25 & 9), Nick Richards (12 & 10) and Keion Brooks (15 & 5) combined for 52 points and 24 boards.
Box Score
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Game MVP
It’s taken a little longer than expected, but EJ Montgomery is coming alive for the Wildcats. The sophomore big man scored a career-high 16 points in last week’s win over UAB, and he nearly topped that in the first half today.
Whether it was running the flood, posting up, or even taking mid-range jumpers, Montgomery’s offense was fantastic today as he finished with 25 points on 12/16 shooting, nine boards, a block and a steal.
This is the EJ Montgomery needs to become a legitimate Final Four contender, and it came at the perfect time with challenging matchups with Ohio State and Louisville coming soon. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll be a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Kentucky will likely have made another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Highlights
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