LEXINGTON, Ky. _ PJ Washington and Tyler Herro were Misters Inside and Outside on Wednesday in Kentucky's uneven 87-74 victory over Winthrop.
Led by Washington, Kentucky's "bigWashs" continued to impose their will on a helpless opponent. Washington's 19 points and 11 rebounds marked his second straight double-double and fifth of his career.
UK out-rebounded Winthrop 37-22 and outscored the Eagles 42-24 in the paint.
Herro snapped out of an early-season shooting funk. He made three 3-pointers, which matched his total in UK's first four games, and finished with 15 points.
Kentucky confined its shots almost exclusively to dunks, layups or 3-pointers. As modern offensive minds would recommend, the Cats eschewed the mid-range game. UK took only six shots that were inside the 3-point line but away from the basket in the game's first 30-plus minutes.
So with all that offense, why didn't Kentucky rout Winthrop? A familiar reason could be cited.
Kentucky's generous 3-point defense continued to give critics fuel. Winthrop, which came into the game ranked No. 38 nationally by averaging 10.3 3s per game, made 13 of 28 shots from behind the arc. With VMI's 19 3s on Sunday, Winthrop's shooting meant the Cats had given up 32 3s in the last two games.
Although Kentucky led 51-37 at halftime, only tepid applause broke out as the players exited the court.
The first half lacked spectacular flair. But numbing textbook play put Kentucky ahead for good 77 seconds into the game.
A popular offensive textbook suggests that a team should prize scores at the basket and 3-pointers. A team should shun mid-range shots.
Kentucky, which made 4 of 10 3-point shots, did not take a shot from mid-range until Herro made a pull-up from the left side with 6:57 left in the first half.
Throughout the first 20 minutes, UK took only two other shots that were not dunks, layups or 3s: EJ Montgomery took a shot from the top of the key and Herro made another pull-up.
Washington led the assault around the basket in the first half with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Winthrop stayed relatively close by making seven of its first 14 3-point shots. UK coach John Calipari wasted no time trying to blunt a repeat of VMI's 19-for-38 3-point shooting last weekend.
After Winthrop center Josh Ferguson hit a 3-pointer in the first minute, Nick Richards paid the price. Richards, who made his first start of the season, was replaced by EJ Montgomery at the 16:49 mark.
The same formula played out in the early minutes of the second half. UK scored the first nine points to expand its lead to 62-37. A 3-pointer by Herro and three baskets by Richards fueled the hot start.
UK took only one mid-range shot in this span: an awkward-looking turnaround from the foul line by Herro that brought Quade Green off the bench and to the scorer's table.
Winthrop made enough 3-pointers to keep Kentucky's perimeter defense an issue. The Eagles made nine of their first 20 3-point shots.
But without a Bubba Parham doing a Steph Curry impersonation, Winthrop's 3-pointers seemed more teaching tool for Calipari than threat to a Kentucky victory.
