Kentucky cruises to a 76-57 win over Troy to advance in the NCAA Tournament

The Wildcats will move on to Sunday in the second round of the tournament.

Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) gestures during the second half against the Troy Trojans at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats began their NCAA Tournament journey on Friday against the 14-seed Troy Trojans. While the game started out slow and Troy hung around early, a 10-0 run in the final minutes of the first half is exactly what Kentucky needed. Troy cut it to six early in the second half, but an 8-0 Kentucky run pushed their lead, and they never looked back.

Those runs gave Kentucky a nice cushion in the second half, allowing them to then cruise to a first round win, advancing to the second round on Sunday. Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler were the leaders in the stat sheet, but it was a 14-1 run in the second half by the duo of Collin Chandler and Brandon Garrison that helped Kentucky get a cushion in the second half, which deserves a great amount of credit. A 9-0 run by Troy with under seven minutes left cut Kentucky's lead to 13, but the Wildcats were able to sustain the lead into the closing seconds.

When the Wildcats got it going, the Trojans just couldn't keep pace, especially with Kentucky's runs. Kentucky got hot from three after struggling to start, finishing 10-26 from deep, and shooting 47 percent overall. Otega Oweh led all scorers with 20 points, while Brandon Garrison, Andrew Carr and Koby Brea all pitched in with 13. Collin Chandler, who was a part of the 14-point run in the second half, had 9 points in 10 solid minutes on the floor.

With the 19-point win over Troy, Mark Pope earned his first career NCAA Tournament win as a coach. Kentucky will now be advancing to the second round on Sunday, facing the winner of Illinois/Xavier.