No. 23 Kentucky has held its first two exhibition opponents to 44 makes in 122 field-goal attempts, according to the school's Texas Tech postgame notes. UCF guard Dior Johnson gives the Wildcats a fresh scoring question in Wednesday's final exhibition. He led the Knights with 18 points at LSU and 19 against Rollins in their two most recent games.
The two UCF performances tell Kentucky what to prepare for, with different limits. UCF's LSU recap credits Johnson with nine makes in 17 attempts and describes two late layups as the Knights pulled even in the final minute. Against Rollins, a Division II program, UCF reported that Johnson scored 19 with seven rebounds and three assists in an 80-74 win. The LSU game offers the more relevant comparison for a trip to another SEC arena. Rollins shows that UCF continued to put the ball in Johnson's hands, without establishing how he will score against Kentucky.
Kentucky's numbers have a new opponent
Kentucky's two-game defensive figure includes Little Rock and No. 19 Texas Tech. Opponents have shot 36% overall and 10 of 50 from three. That is an encouraging start for the length Mark Pope discussed before the exhibitions, which CBR examined earlier. The UCF game can test a narrower point: whether Kentucky can keep a productive guard from turning the first advantage into a clean shot or a pass that reaches the paint.
UCF scored 50 points in the paint and 25 off turnovers against Rollins, according to its recap. Those are team totals against a Division II opponent, so they do not predict Wednesday's numbers. They do give Kentucky two things to track alongside Johnson's scoring. The Wildcats can defend the first action well and still give UCF chances through their own turnovers or a late rotation near the rim.
Kentucky's late offense against Texas Tech answered a different question, after the Red Raiders erased a lead. Wednesday is a chance to see whether the Wildcats' defensive percentages hold when UCF's leading scorer gets repeated chances. Johnson's attempts, UCF's paint points and Kentucky's turnovers will show what the Wildcats actually controlled before their November 3 opener.
