LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Kentucky's 93-69 victory over Canisius on Sunday heightened the anticipation of what-will-we-see Tuesday against No. 12 Michigan State.
While UK won, the growing pains associated with a freshman-dependent team were evident.
This season's first moment of self-discovery came early in the first half. With the Cats trailing 9-2, a question arose: What will Kentucky do later this season _ perhaps against Michigan State in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday _ when it's absolutely necessary?
Against Canisius, which has been picked to finish ninth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in a coaches' vote, Kentucky went to its leader, Isaiah Briscoe. He delivered the baskets that steadied the Cats.
Briscoe went on to score a career-high 21 points. His previous high was 20 at UCLA last season.
It was a night for career highs with De'Aaron Fox scoring 21 points and Malik Monk had 16. Bam Adebayo's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds was also a career high.
Canisius, which had not played a ranked opponent since losing 89-74 to No. 21 UNLV on Dec. 22, 2012, put up plenty of resistance in the first half.
Kentucky outscored Canisius 17-4 in the final 4:26 of the first half to take a 44-35 lead at intermission.
Until then, signs of Kentucky's growing pains were on display. Casual passes. Losing a man defensively. Poor perimeter shooting (zero for seven from three-point range). The Cats were guilty of all of those.
It didn't take long for the reality check. Kentucky coach John Calipari called time with 16:43 left. He couldn't wait for the first television timeout with the Cats trailing 9-2.
Calipari took out Derek Willis, who got beat on a drive and then did not prevent a three-point shot, and put in Wenyen Gabriel.
Offensively, Briscoe steadied Kentucky. He drove decisively to a layup on the first possession after the timeout. Then he hit a pull-up jumper in the lane.
Kentucky still trailed inside the final three minutes.
But those Canisius fouls helped UK rally. Eleven of UK's final 21 points came on free throws. Two free throws by Adebayo put Kentucky ahead 34-33 with 2:32 left.
The Cats scored the final six points to set the 44-35 halftime lead. The Three Tenors, who accounted for 11 of UK's final 13 points, punctuated the first half. Briscoe drove again to a layup. Monk sprinted to a fast-break layup.
Then on the final possession, Fox threw a lob that Monk dunked.
Gabriel made UK's first 3-point shot with 18:06 left. The Cats had missed their previous seven attempts.
Another plus came with 16:25 left. That's when Adebayo, who struggled with fouls in the opener, committed his first foul.
