LEXINGTON, Ky. _ At this early stage of the season, Kentucky coach John Calipari said he was not worried about nor expecting flawless execution.
"I'm more concerned about their fight and their aggressiveness and their attacking mode," he said of his Cats on Thursday.
By contrast, East Tennessee State Coach Steve Forbes worried about Kentucky being ultra competitive after the loss to Kansas on Tuesday.
"I'm afraid we're going to be a sacrificial lamb probably after (Kentucky) playing really hard against Kansas and coming up short," he said. "I'm sure they're probably a little mad."
Kentucky's 78-61 victory Friday night seemed a product of defensive effort that overcame a lack of offensive precision.
For instance, UK missed its first eight free throws and had nearly as many turnovers as assists well into the second half.
After a slow start, Kentucky used defense and Quade Green to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Kentucky held ETSU without a basket for more than nine minutes in a stretch that saw a one-point deficit turn into a 15-point lead.
Green led Kentucky with 21 points. His shooting steadied the slow-starting Cats and brought a degree of order to a chaotic game.
Kevin Knox chipped in a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 points and six assists.
ETSU, which fell to 1-2, had lost four starters and 62 percent of the scoring from a team that won 27 games last season. Still, the Buccaneers started four seniors and were the 19th-most experienced Division I team, according to numbers maven Ken Pomeroy.
Kentucky remained the least-experienced team.
Athlon picked ETSU to finish sixth in the Southern Conference. Street & Smith and USA Today picked the Buccaneers to finish fifth and fourth, respectively. A week earlier, East Tennessee State lost by 18 points at Northern Kentucky.
Despite that modest profile, ETSU avoided an early knockout. A 16-5 run in the final 7:26 of the first half gave Kentucky a 36-30 lead at intermission.
The Cats trailed for more than 14 minutes of the first half. The largest deficit was 18-8 with 12:15 left.
Green, who had come into the game when Calipari called a timeout, led the Kentucky resurgence. He scored 10 points in fewer than two and a half minutes to get UK within 23-20.
Green led all first-half scorers with 12 points. He made his first five shots, which marked a stark contrast to his 8-for-22 shooting in UK's first three games.
ETSU still led 25-20 when Kentucky rallied again. This time it was the transition game that got the Cats going.
A fast-break layup by Hamidou Diallo gave UK its first lead, 26-25 with 5:25 left. That was the third of three straight UK transition baskets that started the 16-5 run down the stretch.
ETSU did not score in the final 3:51 of the first half.
Kentucky extended its lead to double digits early in the second half. Again, the transition game played a part as UK scored the first nine points of the half to take a 45-30 lead.
At the first TV timeout of the second half, East Tennessee State had not scored in almost eight minutes going back to the 3:51 mark of the first half. The Bucs had only two baskets in the last 11 and one-half minutes.
ETSU did not make a basket until a fast-break dunk with 14:31 left. That meant the Bucs went more than nine minutes without a basket.
