You could say Kentucky improved to 3-1 in a "bigs" way.
A memorable example of a tortoise and the hare in the form of perimeter shooting competing against paint power played out in Rupp Arena on Sunday night.
Kentucky defeated VMI 92-82 thanks to an overwhelming advantage in size, which translated into dominance around the basket.
While methodical pounding paved the way to a Kentucky victory, VMI's perimeter shooting blazed surely a long-lasting place in the collective mindset of the Big Blue Nation.
Bubba Parham, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, made 10 3-point shots for VMI. That was one short of a Rupp Arena record for a visiting player. In John Calipari's third game as UK coach, Corey Allmond made 11 for Sam Houston State on Nov. 19, 2009.
Jodie Meeks, Tony Delk and Eric Bledsoe share the Rupp record for threes in a game by a Kentucky player with nine each.
Parham's sharp-shooting, which totaled 35 points and included making a three from the top of the key while falling down, drew a mix of awe and fear from UK fans. In VMI's first four games, he made nine of 26 shots from beyond the 3-point line.
Overall, VMI made 19 3-pointers, which broke Sam Houston State's Rupp Arena record for a UK opponent. Kentucky made 20 against LSU on March 4, 1995.
VMI, which was picked to finished seventh in the Southern Conference by Lindy's and last by Blue Ribbon, gave the game abundant entertainment.
But to borrow a term from UK Coach John Calipari, Kentucky's size was the separator, although not by a lot. UK outrebounded VMI 43-22 and enjoyed a 42-14 advantage in points from the paint.
Reid Travis led UK with 22 points. PJ Washington scored 19 and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.
Facing an opponent that started only one player taller than 6-foot-5, Kentucky all but couldn't avoid using its size to take a 48-34 halftime lead.
That's what happened in a first half that saw UK outrebound VMI 27-11 and outscore the Keydets 24-4 in the paint. The size also contributed to UK enjoying an 18-3 advantage in free throws attempted.
A mild surprise, perhaps, involved freshman EJ Montgomery making his first start, which came after Calipari and assistant Tony Barbee both said he needed more playing time.
But two fouls within a 34-second span sent him to the bench midway through the half so he missed out on a lot of the fun as UK's four "bigs" accounted for 31 first-half points.
Travis, who came off the bench for the first time this season, scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. Washington came within a rebound of a double-double in the first half (11 points and nine rebounds). Nick Richards scored six points in six minutes.
Montgomery made up for in flair what he lacked in quantity of contribution. He took a pass in transition and ran to a fast-break dunk with 15.5 seconds left. That set the halftime score.
A momentary pause to UK's size advantage came with two minutes left in the first half. What looked like an inadvertent poke in the eye-and-nose area sent Travis to the court. He laid there for a minute or two. The crowd applauded when Travis sat up, then again when he stood up and walked to the bench.
Travis wore protective glasses in the second half.
VMI stayed close for a while with three-point shooting. In their first four games, about 43 percent of the Keydets' shots came from three-point range. VMI made six of its first nine shots from behind the line. Parham, VMI's leading scorer, (18.0 per game), made three of his first four attempts and finished the half with 15 points.
But Parham cooled as the half unfolded while UK's size never waned. A 12-0 run late in the half had the appearance of an inevitable mismatch around the basket.
As if the signal that nothing would change in the second half, Keldon Johnson's putback gave Kentucky a score on the first possession.
Later in the half, Travis posted for a score. Two possessions later, Washington passed out of the post to an open Quade Green, who made a 3-point shot.
Parham got hot again in the second half. His ninth 3-pointer brought VMI within 76-68.
