LEXINGTON, Ky. — On paper, Kentucky’s basketball game Friday night in Rupp Arena was supposed to be the easiest on the 2024-25 schedule.

It lived up to that expectation.

The No. 9-ranked Wildcats jumped on Jackson State early, led by as many as 26 points in the first half and rolled to a 108-59 victory in the fifth game of the perfect-so-far Mark Pope era.

Koby Brea had another big night from 3-point range, going 5 for 8 from deep to score 22 points and lead Kentucky in scoring. Brea, who shot 49.8% on 3-pointers at Dayton last season, is now 20 for 27 from deep as a Wildcat.

Otega Oweh added 21 points and three steals for the Cats, who got 14 points from Jaxson Robinson and 11 points, five assists and three steals from Lamont Butler. Backup center Brandon Garrison had six points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals. Backup point guard Kerr Kriisa led the team with seven assists.

Jackson State (0-6) came into the night at No. 322 in the KenPom ratings, the lowest of any opponent on UK’s schedule and the only one on the Cats’ slate outside the top 250 nationally.

Kentucky (5-0) made six of its first eight 3-point attempts and jumped out to a 33-14 lead less than 11 minutes into the game. The Cats led by at least 20 points for the final 27-plus minutes, and their lead grew as large as 51 points in the second half.

It was the third time in five games under Pope that Kentucky scored at least 100 points. The other two were a 77-72 victory over then-No. 6 Duke in the Champions Classic last week, then a 97-68 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday night, a game in which Pope pumped the brakes on UK’s offense in the final minutes.

After that initial flurry of 3-point makes Friday night, the Cats missed 10 in a row from beyond the arc during one span that stretched from the first half into the second half. But Kentucky continued to build on its lead during that skid, which ended with Robinson hitting his fourth 3-pointer of the game.

The Cats had five dunks and four layups during that 10-minute stretch of 3-point misses.

For the game, Kentucky was 17 for 39 from 3-point range, setting season highs for both makes and attempts from deep. Pope said earlier in the week that he wanted his players to take more 3-point shots than they had to that point in the season.

UK came into the night averaging 27.5 attempts per game, and Pope referenced the preseason goal of putting up 35 3-pointers for this team.

The Unity Series

The victory over Jackson State came in the latest installment of the “Unity Series” — an annual game that pits the Wildcats against an HBCU program. The series began under former head coach John Calipari, and Pope has spoken enthusiastically about it this week. Kentucky’s players wore black “Unity” warmups for the occasion.

As part of the game, two former players from each school are recognized as Unity Series Legends. Kenny Walker had that honor Friday night. Walker, who played for the Cats from 1982-86, is still second on the program’s all-time scoring list, behind only Dan Issel. He’s also seventh on the school’s all-time rebounding list.

Purvis Short was Jackson State’s legend, and he and Walker were both introduced to the crowd on the Rupp Arena court during the game. Short was the No. 5 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft and played 842 games over 12 seasons in the league.

Next UK basketball game

The Cats will be back in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night for an in-state battle with Western Kentucky, just the eighth all-time meeting between the two schools.

The Hilltoppers are off to a 3-2 start in their first season under head coach Hank Plona, and their last two games came against teams Kentucky has also played. WKU beat Lipscomb, 66-61 — the Cats defeated the Bisons by 29 points — and the Hilltoppers beat Jackson State, 79-62, on Wednesday.

UK and WKU met during the 2021-22 season — with the Toppers stepping in as a replacement for Louisville, which couldn’t play due to COVID-19 protocols. The last time that Western Kentucky was an intended opponent on UK’s regular-season schedule was Nov. 15, 2001, and the Hilltoppers won that game, 64-52. UK leads the all-time series 5-2.

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