"We just have a standard that we have to live up to, and we're not" Even after a 103-67 win over North Carolina Central, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was blunt in his assessment with where the Wildcats are at right now. @LEX18News | @BBNTonight

"His whole heart is in this and I expect big things" Pope said Jasper Johnson needs to continue to grow into his role. Tonight was a step towards finding the freshman's potential.

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Pope said he was very disappointed with the defense tonight. He noted cleaning up the fouls and keeping things in front of the Wildcats. Not letting opposing offenses find gaps and get behind the UK back line.

"We don't know what it means to compete yet, which is terrifying. But we'll learn." Kentucky head coach Mark Pope postgame talking about the standard the Wildcats need to set going forward.

Kentucky Uses Three-Point Barrage in 103-67 Win Over North Carolina Central. https://t.co/zp03pJggWS

It's Tow Time

1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ provided by @BruhJasperJ 📺 - SEC Network

Jasper Johnson already working on a career-high 17 point effort. The freshman looks very comfortable moving in the offense tonight.

Trent Noah finds Malachi Moreno for the alley-oop! Both scorers are in the double figures, along with Jasper Johnson and Otega Oweh. Kentucky with a commanding 72-48 lead midway into the second half.

.@OtegaOweh from out of nowhere 💥 📺 - SEC Network

OTEGA. OWEH.

HALFTIME: Kentucky 52, North Carolina Central 31 Otega Oweh leads with 12 followed by Trent Noah’s 11.

Coming out of the Gonzaga loss, Otega Oweh's hustle was widely criticized. Great response tonight. 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the first half for Kentucky. UK needs its star to be a star. @BBNTonight

Kentucky takes a 52-31 lead into the locker room. Oweh leads the way with 12 points. Noah has 11. The Wildcats are filling up the hustle stats in the box score. 20 fast break points for UK to pair with 14 points off turnovers.

The lineup of Johnson, Noah, Chandler, Oweh and Jelavic has managed to tear open a massive lead thanks to a 16-0 Kentucky run. Wildcats lead 47-23 with 3:41 left in the first half.

Kentucky shooting 45.5% on three-pointers

Otega Oweh with 8 points early on 3-3 shooting. Crucial for the Wildcats to get their star playing at a high level on both ends of the court.

A Brandon Garrison turnover leads to a NC Central score, and a Mark Pope timeout. The Eagles aren't a team known for their defense, but they've been able to fluster the Wildcats.

It's early, but Kentucky is currently being outrebounded by NC Central. The small ball starting five gave up size. Still waiting to see if it can deliver a scoring punch. Wildcats lead 14-10 with 11:56 left in the first half.

Kentucky holds onto a tight 10-7 lead over North Carolina Central at the under 16 media timeout. Trent Noah, Otega Oweh both with early three-pointers for the Wildcats.