Three takeaways from Kentucky's 90-76 overtime win over UCF

It took overtime, but Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats were able to take down the UCF Knights in Rupp Arena to finish their exhibition games 3-0. It took a big shot from Alex Wilkins as time expired in regulation for the Wildcats to make it to overtime, but once they got there, Pope's team blew the doors off UCF, winning this game 90-76.

There was a lot of positivity to take away from the win for Pope and the Wildcats. Let's take a look at three takeaways from Kentucky's overtime win over the Knights.

Three takeaways from Kentucky's 90-76 exhibition win over UCF

Mason Williams is a superstar

All summer Big Blue Nation heard that Mason Williams was way ahead of schedule and that he would get legit minutes this season. After this, Jernoe Morton goes down with an injury, and just like that, Williams was lunged into a much larger role. In the win over the Knights this evening, Williams scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The true freshman also added two rebounds and two assists to the stat sheet. If he keeps playing like this, it will be hard for Pope to keep him out of the starting five.

Zoom Diallo continues to struggle

In the first two exhibition games, the starting point guard for the Wildcats, Zoom Diallo, struggled, and those struggles continue this evening. Diallo went 2-for-9 from the field and took some bad shots. Diallo did have six assists, which is good to see, but his downhill scoring hasn't impressed like fans were hoping for heading into these games. No one needs to panic yet on Diallo, but with the way Williams is playing, if things don't improve, the freshman could become a starter. Diallo is a leader on this team, and he will be just fine.

Kentucky's defense is better than BBN thought

Oct 23, 2026; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Braydon Hawthorne (2) passes the ball during the first half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Rupp Arena Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heading into this season, no one had a lot of confidence that the Wildcats were going to be a good defensive team. In all three of the exhibition games, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the defense played for this team. Pope talked all offseason about Kentucky's length being a big help on the defensive end of the floor, and that has been the case. The offense will continue to get better for the Wildcats, but if the defense performs above expectations, this could be a very good basketball team.

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