Mark Pope wants to see more three-point shooting volume from the Wildcats

Kentucky shot 27 threes against Nicholls, a place they struggled a lot on Tuesday.

Nov 4, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) shoots the ball during the second half against the Nicholls Colonels at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky had a lot of offensive struggles in their win over Nicholls, and although they tightened things up in the second half, the first half was really poor on offense, but especially when it comes to shooting. The Wildcats shot just 2-16 in the first half, taking a 28-15 lead to halftime. They followed that up by going 5-11 in the second half, but the first half left plenty to be desired for on that end of the floor.

Mark Pope talked after the game about his team's shooting struggles, and actually, he's not focused on the percentage of shots made, but more on the volume of shots taken. The Wildcats had a goal last season of putting up 35 threes per game, which they failed to get to, and this team has a similar goal.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope questions a call of blocking on the Cats while they take on Nicholls in the first half at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Nov. 4, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I actually spend zero time on if we make shots or not," Pope said on UK Sports Network. "We only shot 27. That's a problem, like, we need to get this above 30. I thought we turned down so many. I thought some specific guys turned out shots. We have got to get this number in the 30s. It's really important for us, and we're offsetting. We'll make shots sometimes we miss it the shots sometimes, but that's a big part of how we perform offensively."

Kentucky shot very poor in the first half, as it was their defense that was for sure the bright spot, holding Nicholls to just 3-25 overall. The Wildcats really struggled to get into an offensive flow in the first half, and Pope said they looked really tight in the first half all over on offense, not just shooting the ball. "I felt like we were tentative and a little tight. We had tough time catching the balls early in the game. This is our first step in this journey, we're so excited. We've been building on this for a while now, and so I think we're a little a little just lost in the weeds a little bit on the offensive side."

Kentucky Wildcats guard Collin Chandler (5) scores three points in the second half at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Nov. 4, 2025. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Wildcats did find much more of a smooth rhythm in the second half, and you could tell the offense was more comfortable whenever Denzel Aberdeen was at point, since point guard is not Collin Chandler's natural position, so he was tasked with stepping up there a lot in the first half with Aberdeen limited. Jasper Johnson also got some time at the one spot, but there's nothing like a veteran who is familiar with facilitating the offense.

Kentucky's offensive operation shouldn't be a concern at all, especially once starting point guard Jaland Lowe returns and Aberdeen gets back to regular minutes, but as for the shooting, it could still end up being a concern, although the second half improvement showed signs of optimism there.