For the fourth straight season, Kentucky has spoiled an opponent's Senior Day.
The No. 19 Wildcats did what only one visiting team has done this season at Mizzou Arena, defeating the No. 15 Tigers 91-83 to close the regular season out on a high note.
"We knew we were going to have our hands massively full here today," Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said. "Couldn't be more proud of our guys. The game wasn't smooth the whole time, but out guys kinda stayed onto the next play and the next play and just figured things out."
"This was one that we really wanted bad," said UK junior guard Otega Oweh, who scored 20 of his team-high 22 points in the second half. "These are the type of matchups that you play for. We knew we had to come in here and play with some grit and some intensity and guard people."
Playing the spoiler role is becoming a habit for Kentucky, regardless of the names on the back of the jerseys. The Cats also defeated Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee on Senior Day the last three years.
Kentucky (21-10, 10-8 SEC) also got 17 points from grad senior wing Koby Brea, who went 6-for-9 from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers. Grad senior forward Andrew Carr had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and also chipped in with three assists, two blocked shots, and a steal. Another grad senior, center Amari Williams, added 14 points and eight rebounds.
"This is who (Carr) was the first couple of months he was here," Pope said. "There were about six weeks in there where he was just struggling with the back pain, but he's come back and put together a really incredible season.
"He was unbelievable tonight, especially on the glass, getting contested rebound after contested rebound after contested rebound in a really physical matchup."
Kentucky shot 48% from the field and knocked down 11 of its 20 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. The Cats were also aggressive in getting to the free-throw line, making 26 of their 33 attempts. Williams went 10-of-12 from the line.
Missouri (21-10, 10-8 SEC) was unable to get into its trademark transition offense. The Tigers got hot from the 3-point stripe late in the game (finishing 11 of 28) but it was too little, too late.
Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 22 points. Former Lexington Henry Clay standout Marques Warrick added 17 for Mizzou, which shot 44% as a team.
The Cats held Mizzou sharpshooter Caleb Grill to just eight points on 2-for-6 shooting from the arc, using Oweh and Collin Chandler to shadow him all over that end of the floor.
Kentucky turned 14 turnovers by the Tigers into 20 points on its end.
"Coach (Mark) Fox kinda led this scout, and I thought it was put together and executed brilliantly by our guys," Pope said.
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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Kentucky led 38-29 at halftime and by as much as 16 in the second half before Missouri made a late charge to make things interesting. A 10-0 run by the Tigers cut UK's lead to 66-61 with 6:18 to go, but the Cats responded with a 12-6 spurt to regain control. Four different players -- Amari Williams, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr, and Lamont Butler -- scored during the run to help Kentucky hang on for the win. Carr also had four rebounds and an assist during the decisive stretch.
GAME BALL:
Andrew Carr, Kentucky -- The grad senior transfer from Wake Forest turned in the kind of performance that Big Blue Nation was hoping to see when he signed with the Wildcats. He was in the middle of almost every key moment for Kentucky, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, and a steal.
BY THE NUMBERS:
3-for-3 - All three Kentucky freshmen (Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, Travis Perry) made a 3-pointer. They combined for 14 points, including eight from Chandler.
8 - The Wildcats now have eight wins over Associated Press Top-15 opponents this season, tying Indiana (1992-93) and Duke (1978-79) for the most wins against Top 15 teams ever in a single season
12-1 - Record for UK when making at least 11 3-pointers. The Cats were 11 of 20 today.
14-8 - The Cats' advantage in transition points. Missouri entered the matchup as one of the top teams in the nation for fast-break scoring.
16-3 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series against Missouri, including a 5-3 mark in Columbia.
37-36 - Cats win the rebounding column by one, moving to 14-4 on the season when they outrebound the opponent.
QUOTABLE:
"In each of those first two media timeouts, we just talked about, hey guys, we know we're struggling to figure things out on offense, but we're leaning into our defense because our defense is keeping us in this. It's great to know that our defense can keep us afloat while we figure things out offensively." -- UK head coach Mark Pope on being able to overcome a slow start in Saturday's game.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action next week in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Cats' seed and matchup have yet to be determined. UK will be either the 5, 6, or 7 seed playing on Thursday.
