Happy New Year! We’re officially in the middle of the heart of the Roaring 20s as the calendar flipped to 2025 at midnight. Kentucky basketball fans got to celebrate fresh off a win over Brown.

Slow starts are becoming more of a norm than anyone would like. That was once again the case on New Year’s Eve. Six minutes into the game, Jaxson Robinson had all eight of the Wildcats’ points. That’s not exactly an explosive offense. Andrew Carr injected a little life into the Cats with seven points in a flurry to help create some separation from the Bears.

Kentucky led by 12 at the half, then Otega Oweh scored five points from the jump to spark an 11-3 run. From that point on, it never felt close.

The 88-54 victory capped off the non-conference slate with an 11-2 record. Not too shabby. It sets up a showdown against undefeated Florida this Saturday at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky Defense Steps Up, With One Exception

Amari Williams got things rolling by swatting a couple of early shots. The block party turned into a turnover party. The Cats had five total blocks and 14 steals, turning 23 Brown turnovers into 33 points.

The Kentucky defense put the game out of reach, but the rebounding let Brown hang around for a half. The Bears had 11 more rebounds at intermission, many of which were on the offensive glass. Once Kentucky cut out the second chance points in the second half, the Bears didn’t stand a chance. The Cats closed the gap, but Brown still had a 35-29 advantage at the final horn.

No Mo’ Stache for Travis Perry

New Year, New Travis Perry. The freshman from Eddyville ditched his mustache and the change appears to have changed the vibes. His first shot with a clean upper lip was a made three-pointer. Coincidence? I think not. Andrew Carr revealed after the game that Perry’s missing mustache was in fact a mistake.

“I don’t know if I should out him like this, but he forgot to put the guard on,” Carr snitched. “He didn’t want to do it, but he messed it up and once you mess up a mustache, it’s all got to go. I kind of just exposed him, but he’ll be all right.”