Cats Host Ottawa in Monday Exhibition Contest
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For weeks, Tyler Ulis has faced Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe, Marcus Lee has battled Isaac Humphries and Skal Labissiere, Charles Matthews has defended and attacked Mychal Mulder. On Monday, that finally comes to an end.
The Kentucky Wildcats will continue battling in practice, obviously, but finally, after numerous hours of hard work during scheduled practices and voluntary pickup games, the Cats will face a team without a blue and white jersey.
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| Ottawa at Kentucky | ||
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| Mon., Nov. 2 – 7 p.m. ET Rupp Arena Lexington, Ky. Game Notes: UK  | Ottawa
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TV: SEC Network + |
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| UK | 2014-15 Team Stats | OU |
| 0-0 | Record | 0-1 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| .468 | FG% | .444 |
| .354 | Opp FG% | .426 |
| .349 | 3FG% | .364 |
| .726 | FT% | .710 |
| 74.4 | PPG | 78.7 |
| 38.0 | RPG | 40.2 |
| 6.87 | BPG | 3.57 |
| 14.18 | APG | 15.04 |
| 6.49 | SPG | 5.89 |
“It’s amazing,” Lee said. “Playing against the same people over and over, I mean, you get to learn how to play with them while playing against them, but it’s good that we finally have to be a whole team and play against somebody else.”
The scrimmages are fun and the brotherhood within the team appears to be growing with each passing day, but the excitement and anticipation of facing a different opponent, whether it be in an exhibition, regular season or postseason game, is simply different.
“I can’t wait,” Mulder said. “We’ve been really, really eager to play somebody other than us. I feel like it’s going to be really fun on Monday and we’re all really excited for it.”
Ottawa, a Division II NAIA school located about 30 miles south of Lawrence, Kan., in eastern Kansas, is the alma mater of Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. And while the Braves have just two players listed at 6-foot-6 or taller, there’s still plenty for the Wildcats to get out of this game….Read More
UK Flashes Potential at Blue-White Scrimmage
In a 40-minute nationally televised scrimmage on the SEC Network, Kentucky displayed its potential in its annual Blue-White Scrimmage. Having said goodbye to seven players now in the NBA, the Wildcats showed flashes of why they’re still ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll to begin the season. Attendance was 15,007, the second-highest total in Blue-White history.
Eight Wildcats scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Tyler Ulis posted a game-high 15 assists to go along with 10 points. Freshman forward Skal Labissiere posted a double-double with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Marcus Lee also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Alex Poythress showed no ill effects of last season’s knee injury with 17 points. Other double-figure scorers included Charles Matthews and Jamal Murray with 17 each, Isaiah Briscoe with 16, and Derek Willis with 14
Ottawa Ties
UK Athletics Director Mitch Director Mitch Barnhart graduated from Ottawa University in 1981. The two schools will meet for the first time.
Lee, Poythress, Ulis Among Returners
Despite losing seven players to the NBA Draft, Kentucky will return an explosive and talented nucleus in 2015-16. Scholarship players EJ Floreal, Dominique Hawkins, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Derek Willis and Tyler Ulis will return and join a talented recruiting class that’s ranked No. 2 in the country.
Ulis ranked third in the country and first among league competition last season with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Poythress is just 90 rebounds shy of becoming the 52nd player in program history to snatch 500 or more career boards. Lee boasts 41 career blocks.
Recruit and Reload
To help offset for losing 85.9 percent of its scoring and 77.3 percent of its rebounding from the historic 38-1 Final Four team of a season ago, Kentucky will welcome eight newcomers to the 2015-16 roster.
The spring and summer scholarship editions included Canadians Mychal Mulder and Jamal Murray, and Austrailian Isaac Humphries, who join fall signees Isaiah Briscoe, Skal Labissiere and Charles Matthews. UK also added walk-ons Jonny David and Dillon Pulliam.
Mulder was a junior college All-America selection as a sophomore at Vincennes University. Murray and Humphries reclassified to the 2015 class. Murray is rated a top-15 prospect by nearly every recuriting service, while Humphries is a top-50 prospect.
Briscoe adds to Calipari’s growing list of McDonald’s All-Americans, while Labissiere is rated as the No. 1 overall player in the 2015 class by both Rivals and Scout. Matthews, who played in the Jordan Brand Classic, was the first committ to the class and joins former AAU teammate Tyler Ulis on the roster.
