Kentucky leans on the offense big in 99-85 win against Bellarmine before SEC play

Kentucky basketball came into Rupp Arena on Tuesday following back-to-back wins that included responding to adversity in a big way, but it was also the first time Kentucky has been fully healthy all season. It sounds obvious, but it's true. When this Kentucky team is healthy, they're scary, and when they made their big runs in the last two games, Jaland Lowe and Mo Dioubate, as well as Jayden Quaintance, with the exception of the Indiana game, were all finally on the floor together.

On Tuesday, the Wildcats welcomed an in-state opponent Bellarmine into Rupp Arena, and it was an opportunity to continue building on all of the momentum and confidence that the team has presented over the last two games, and they were able to get that done after having to work through major adversity in the last two games as well as the first half on Tuesday. No Jaland Lowe, as he was held out of Tuesday's game as a precaution after going out for a period of time during the last two games aggravating his shoulder. It was a very slow start without Lowe, especially defensively, but the Wildcats were able to get their stuff together eventually thanks to another performance where the second half saves the day, specifically the offense, finally getting their shooting in order.

Kam Williams led the Wildcats with an amazing performance of 26 points on 8-10 shooting from three, as well as Mo Dioubate with 20. Let's take a look at a few takeaways from the win.

Kentucky missed Jaland Lowe's infectious energy, especially on defense

Kentucky got tested in a big way early, mainly on defense, allowing 38 points in the first half, and it stayed throughout the game, allowing 47 points in the second half as well. Jaland Lowe is the engine of this Kentucky team. It's very clear, and everyone who has watched Kentucky play this season knows that. Lowe was held out of Tuesday's game as a precaution, and his absence was noticable, even against a Bellarmine team who is ultimately ranked 260th in the country. They tested the Wildcats on both ends, but offensively, it was very sloppy play early from Kentucky, and it was a result of not having Lowe on the floor to help create. Defensively, well, the effort was lacking, and Bellarmine was able to get to the rim with ease. The Knights rank as one of the best teams in the country at getting to the line, and it showed. They shot 26-30 from the line on Tuesday, a huge part in their offense finding success throughout, combined with their ability to capitalize off sloppy play.

The Knights stayed with Kentucky for the entire first half, and in the second half, Kentucky was forced to lean more on their offense as the defense remained shaky, as the Knights just wouldn't go away. Mark Pope even called their defensive effort in the first half "embarrassing." The second half wasn't much better, as it was still mostly offensive success for the Wildcats, behind a big three-point shooting day in Rupp Arena.

Behind Kam Williams, Kentucky got their three-point shooting going

Kentucky is coming off two of some of the worst shooting performances in the Mark Pope era. They shot just 3-15 against Indiana, and just 4-16 against St. John's. Well, they eclipsed both of those marks in the first half against Bellarmine, a big bright spot in an offense that took a few minutes to get going. The Wildcats made seven threes in the first half alone, and they finished with 16 made threes on the day. But it was Kam Williams who led the way in his own breakout game, behind a team-high 26 points and 8 threes. It was the best three-point shooting performance by a Kentucky player since 2020, and the third-most made threes by a player in program history. Kentucky struggled with sloppy play early in the game, but things were much better once the began taking better care. The offense was certainly their saving grace on Tuesday, and they leaned on it late to pull away behind Williams' incredible shooting.

The Wildcats did struggle with the zone to start the game, but they quickly began taking better care of the ball as well as knocking down shots. Their offense was never really in question. It was more about their lack of defensive effort throughout the game, which really tested them.

This game was mainly about meshing the chemistry of a finally healthy Kentucky team together, but it was tough to get things going from the jump without Lowe, and it was clear, but they ended up getting the job done after Bellarmine gave them all they could handle, not going away. After winning their last two games with defense, it was their offense carrying on Tuesday. Now, they'll get a much-needed 10-day break as they can work on plenty of stuff in practice now that every piece of the roster is available. Kentucky is piecing things together right before SEC play begins. They'll kick things off on the road at Alabama on Jan 3.