This time, the Madness worked out in Kentucky’s favor. ‘That’s what March is all about’
The final scene of Kentucky’s 76-57 victory against Troy in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was a fitting one. Mark Pope walked across the basketball court at Fiserv Forum, starting point guard Lamont Butler alongside him, smiles on their faces. Pope was just moments removed from his first March Madness win as a head coach. Butler was the player he had brought to Lexington to help him get to this point.
Pope, a former UK player himself — a captain of the Wildcats’ beloved 1996 national championship team, in fact — had restored hope to a fan base that had hit an emotional rock bottom. Butler — a point guard with such an impressive NCAA Tournament résumé that people have been calling him “LeMarch” — had helped turn Pope’s vision of winning basketball into a reality.
Butler — a point guard with such an impressive NCAA Tournament résumé that people have been calling him “LeMarch” — had helped turn Pope’s vision of winning basketball into a reality. They walked across the court together, in victory, and headed to the UK locker room. But that image didn’t tell the story of this particular win.
Yes, Butler’s defensive presence was yet again a difference-maker. He led the Cats with a plus-22 rating despite not scoring a single point Friday night. And, sure, Pope was the man who put this team together, then kept them on the right track when things got tough. But, on this night, the spotlight deserved to be pointed elsewhere. Kentucky fans have come to expect the unexpected this time of year. Gimme games in March are a thing of the past. A stunning loss to Saint Peter’s three years ago made sure of that. A shocking defeat to Oakland — on this same date last year — drove home the point.
When Kentucky’s offense was going nowhere, it wasn’t one of the team’s veterans who hit the shot that finally got things started. It was Trent Noah, the freshman from Harlan who came to campus last year presumed to be the 12th man on the roster. When the Trojans battled back to within six points in the second half, it wasn’t one of Kentucky’s biggest names that shot the Cats back to safety. It was Collin Chandler, the freshman from Utah who wasn’t even an active basketball player a year ago.
And when UK needed some big plays to supplement Chandler’s out-of-nowhere flurry, sophomore reserve Brandon Garrison supplied the extra spark.
As those three names were listed off in the UK locker room after the game, Andrew Carr — one of the Wildcats’ super-seniors — smiled and nodded along.
“Oh man, it’s awesome,” he said. “You know, that’s the beauty of this team. That’s when we’re at our best is (when) everybody’s ready to step up, and everybody’s ready to go when their number is called. And it’s pretty cool. That’s what March is all about.”
It started with Noah, who at one point this season played only four minutes total in a span that lasted more than six weeks, stuck at the end of the Kentucky bench before being thrown into action during the heart of SEC play due to injuries elsewhere on the roster.
Noah made some big shots down the stretch for the Cats, but he hadn’t made many recently. He was 1-for-15 from 3-point range over the past month. About a minute after checking into the game Friday night — the Cats clinging to a 25-24 lead and shooting 1-for-8 from deep as a team — Noah found himself wide-open on the perimeter. He called for the ball. Amari Williams found him with a cross-court pass. As soon as Noah caught it, he let one fly with no hesitation. The shot dropped, and that kickstarted a 10-0 Kentucky run
“It’s really a shout out to the coaches — Coach (Mark) Fox and Coach Pope, and then the whole staff, really,” Noah said. “I mean, I haven’t been shooting it that great recently, but they’ve kept instilling confidence into me. Amari threw an absolute perfect pass. I mean, out of the double team, right in my shooting pocket. And thankfully it went down.”
What did that feel like?
“This is what I dreamed for,” said Noah, grinning wide at this point. “I’ve been watching Kentucky and March Madness ever since I was a little kid. So being able to really do it and be in the moment — it is really, really cool.” UK was up 13 points in the first minute of the second half, but the Trojans quickly narrowed that advantage to six. They had the momentum. They had the Illinois fans — a group that outnumbered Kentucky’s — on their side. The Cats needed something.
That something came from Chandler, who spent two years on a church mission out of high school and had barely touched a basketball over that time when he arrived in Lexington last year.
The reacclimation process was understandably rough. Chandler scored four total points over a span of nearly three months before showing signs of promise in the past few weeks. When Carr found him on the wing — UK holding desperately to a 45-39 advantage — he, too, let his first shot of the night go with zero hesitation. It was so pure, the ball barely
“It’s nice to see one go down early,” Chandler said. “For me … when I can come in and be aggressive and hit a shot, I feel like my nerves calm down a little bit. I’m able to settle down.
And so I was grateful to see the first one go down tonight and be able to build off of that one. But it’s huge to hit that first one.” It wasn’t the last one. A minute later, he got fouled on another 3-pointer and buried all three free throws. And 45 seconds after that, he pumpfaked a Troy defender off the court and let another one go from long range. That one also splashed through the net.
Chandler scored nine points in less than two minutes. His last 3-pointer gave the Cats a 56-39 lead. Amid that run, Garrison was just as great. He had loud deflections that turned into Troy turnovers. He battled for rebounds. He unleashed a spin move in the post and nailed a 3-pointer of his own.
Williams, who starts at the 5 and has been something of a mentor to Garrison — his younger backup this season — smiled with pride as his teammate’s exploits on the court were recounted. “That’s just a glimpse of what he’s going to become,” Williams predicted. “He’s a great player, and I’m happy for him. I’m happy that he came out like that.”
All told, Chandler and Garrison scored the first 15 points of a 16-0 run. By the end of that, Kentucky led 61-39 with eight minutes left. The game was, effectively, over. Once the final buzzer sounded, Pope officially had his first NCAA Tournament victory as a head coach. Any dread that UK fans had over the possibility of another early March Madness exit had dissipated. This time around, the strangeness of this time of year had worked out in Kentucky’s favor.
The Cats’ older players were still integral to the victory, of course. Junior guard Otega Oweh was once again the team’s leading scorer, with 20 points. Koby Brea once again hit some big 3-pointers, scoring 13 on the night. Carr set the tone defensively with some early blocks and scored 13 points, too.
Butler’s presence defensively was undeniable. Williams had 13 rebounds, four assists and a highlight-reel dunk that got the Cats going. But those guys were more eager to talk about their younger teammates after this one.
“They were big time,” Brea said. “They ignited a spark for us, and it was something that was needed. And we’re gonna continue to need that. I’m just super proud that they were able to come do that for us today, and I’m expecting them to do it next game. “But it’s definitely good to see them, you know, all the hard work that they put in, and just to finally be able to go out there and show it. I’m just happy for them.”
