Kentucky delivered its best first-half defensive performance in a prolific NCAA Tournament history on Thursday, holding Abilene Christian to just 13 points en route to a 79-44 win at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

Playing without injured All-American and leading scorer PJ Washington, who is nursing a sprained left foot he sustained in the SEC Tournament, the Midwest Region's No. 2 seed leaned on defense to reach a second-round matchup with either Wofford (7) or Seton Hall (10).

Kentucky (28-6) held Abilene Christian to 19.2 percent shooting in the first half. The purple-clad Wildcats knocked down only five of their 26 attempts in trailing 39-13 at the break.

"You know, our defense made it difficult," UK head coach John Calipari said.

"Kentucky is all that," ACU head coach Joe Golding said. "They're really, really good, the best team we've played this year, them and Texas Tech."

Freshman wing Keldon Johnson led the Cats with 25 points. Grad transfer forward Reid Travis filled the void left by Washington’s absence with 18 points, while freshman guard Tyler Herro added 14.

UK dominated the glass, outrebounding the smaller ACU squad 44-17 Freshman forward EJ Montgomery had a team-high 11 rebounds, while Travis pulled down nine.

Abilene Christian (27-7) finished at 32.1 percent from the field. The No. 15 seed was led by Jaren Lewis with 17 points.

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In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

THE GOOD:

Even without Washington on the floor, the game was never in doubt. Kentucky completely took care of its business and ensured it would not be a March Madness highlight on ESPN and CBS promos for years to come.

THE BAD:

The nature of Washington's foot injury has become a bigger mystery with each passing day. On Thursday in Jacksonville, he was sporting a hard cast rather than the "boot" device, which stoked speculation that he's ailing more than UK has acknowledged to this point. From this point on, every game could be a challenge for the Cats, so playing without Washington in any other round could make Big Blue's run in the tourney dicey.

THE UGLY:

Hard to point to anything that fit this category today on the UK side of things, but Abilene Christian certainly wanted to make a better showing at its first appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament. A late and arguably dirty undercut foul by ACU's Hayden Farquhar against UK's Nick Richards could have been an ugly -- and dangerous -- moment.

GAME BALL:

Reid Travis, Kentucky -- The 6-foot-8, 240-pound grad transfer set the tone early for the Cats, scoring at will in the paint. He finished 8-for-10 from the field. You could tell Travis was inspired, playing in the first NCAA game of his decorated career and feeling the responsibility to pick up the slack for Washington.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Win in Kentucky's NCAA Tournament history in Jacksonville.

8-0 - The Wildcats' all-time NCAA record against No. 15 seeds.

15-0 - Bench points edge for UK, led by eight for Nick Richards.

24-2 - Second-chance points advantage for Cats.

29-7 - UK's record under Calipari in NCAA play.

40 - Points in the paint by Kentucky.

58th - Record NCAA Tournament appearance for UK.

QUOTABLE:

"It felt good. Like you said, it's been a long time. This has always been a dream of mine playing college basketball, is to be in the tournament and advance deep in it. This is the first step. I'm just glad I can enjoy it with my teammates." -- UK forward Reid Travis

UP NEXT:

Kentucky will play the winner of tonight's late game, Wofford (7) vs. Seton Hall (10), on Saturday in the Round of 32. Seton Hall defeated the Cats 84-83 in overtime on Dec. 8 at Madison Square Garden. The Pirates' Myles Powell hit six of 11 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 28 points. Wofford, meanwhile, finished the season No. 13 in the NCAA"s new NET rankings