3 takeaways from Kentucky basketball's win over North Florida

LEXINGTON — After a slow start, Kentucky basketball rolled to its fifth straight win in a 86-52 blowout of North Florida.

Freshman guard TyTy Washington and sophomore guard Dontaie Allen led Kentucky with 14 points each. Junior forward Oscar Tshiebwe recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds. They were joined in double figures by junior point guard Sahvir Wheeler (12) and freshman forward Daimion Collins (12). Wheeler added a season-high 14 assists for his second double-double.

Here is what you need to know about the win.

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Defense breaks Kentucky out of early slump

You might not suspect by the final score, but Kentucky actually trailed for most of the first 13 minutes of the game.

The Wildcats hit just five of their first 20 shots and trailed 16-14 at the under-8 media timeout in the first half. The slow start was a worrisome look at how an offense without a consistent low-post scorer that fails to get to the free throw line regularly might struggle when jump shots are not falling.

Kentucky found its path to easy baskets with defense.

Collins tied the game at 16 with a lob from Dontaie Allen after a North Florida turnover. Wheeler then gave Kentucky the lead for good with a fastbreak layup off a Tshiebwe rebound of a missed Osprey's 3-pointer.

The Collins lob started a 12-2 run that gave Kentucky control of the game. Eight of UK's points in the run came off North Florida turnovers. By halftime, UK had an 18-0 advantage in fastbreak points and 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers. For the entire game, Kentucky outscored North Florida 28-0 and 20-3 in those categories respectively.

"Here's what I like: We fought, and we defended," UK coach John Calipari said. "That's what we did. We scrambled. We played. We came up with balls, and we flew."

Another encouraging step for Daimion Collins

The first month of Collins' college career has gone as expected.

There have been glimpses of the immense athletic gifts that had him projected as a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft entering the season but also plenty of examples of the inexperience that was expected as he made the jump from a tiny Texas town to the top level of college basketball.

Collins played just one minute in the season-opening loss to Duke then starred with 14 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists three days later against Robert Morris. He combined for just four points and two rebounds in Kentucky's next two games then contributed six points, three rebounds and three blocks in the win over Albany.

With Keion Brooks (illness) unavailable Friday, Collins made his first career start and recorded his second double-digit scoring performance.

Collins scored Kentucky's first points of the night with a jumper then missed back-to-back 3-point attempts. From there, Collins settled down, hitting 6 of 8 2-point attempts on the night. He grabbed six rebounds and blocked one shot.

"It was obviously a good opportunity for me because it was my first college start," Collins said. "Having that opportunity to go out there and start, and then play good, it felt really good."

It is clear there will be nights where Collins is not much of a factor, but Calipari has to keep playing him in hopes he figures things out by March. How he plays in December when Kentucky faces its next high-major opponents will say much.

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Even as junior forward Jacob Toppin (shoulder) and sophomore forward Lance Ware (ankle) returned to the court, Kentucky was down another player Friday as junior forward Keion Brooks was a late scratch due to illness.

Neither Brooks or super senior guard Davion Mintz, who missed his second consecutive game with an illness, were on the bench. With junior guard C.J. Fredrick expected to miss the entire season with a hamstring injury, Kentucky had nine available healthy scholarship players against North Florida.

After the game, Calipari said three managers and his son, UK graduate assistant coach Brad Calipari, were also sick this week.

"I wish I could make them take flu shots, but I can't," Kentucky's coach said. "I had mine the other day."

The absence of Brooks, who scored 39 points in Kentucky's last two games, was felt in the early slump, but Collins did impress in his first career start.

Toppin played four minutes, contributing three points and two rebounds. Ware played seven minutes with four points and one rebound.

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com; Follow him on Twitter at @JonHale_CJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball vs. North Florida: Defense sparks early run