The second-half melee sparked a 105-76 win for No. 8 Kentucky over Georgia State

An upset Kentucky team is a dangerous Kentucky team.

On Friday evening in the Rupp Arena, The no. Seven Several Kentucky players reached double figures by a margin of 19 points Jaxson Robinson and 17 more from Lamont Butler. Great Britain struggled from distance, finishing the night just 7-for-26 from distance, but still managed to shoot 60 percent as a team, with 62 points coming from long range.

Four technical fouls were committed midway through the second half after a near-brawl. At the time, Kentucky led 61-53. After the officials reviewed the situation and distributed their technical information, the Wildcats closed the game with a 44-23 run. A total of 44 fouls were called in this game between the two teams, with two Georgia State players fouled out.

Along with Robinson and Butler, Amari Williams scored 14 points and six rebounds (including a perfect 6-6 mark from the free throw line). Otega Oweh And Ansley Almonor Added 12 points apiece while Andrew Carr And Koby Brea went for 10 each. Great Britain turned the ball over just nine times and provided 23 assists.

A 7-0 start to the season is Kentucky’s best since the 2016-17 season.

Georgia State was determined to give Kentucky a good fight. The Panthers played as well as they could have hoped for most of the first half. It took a few periods for Kentucky to find a rhythm on offense, but once they did, a double-digit lead soon followed. Georgia State stayed close, however, and actually trailed by just two points with 5:06 left in the half. Then Kentucky caught fire.

The Wildcats ended the first half with a 17-4 run and took a 48-33 lead at the break. Butler led all scorers with 13 points on 5-6 shooting, while three other Wildcats had eight points. Despite going 4-11 from deep in the first half, Great Britain still shot 67.9 percent overall. It wasn’t a perfect 20 minutes of play for the Cats, but a 15-point lead was satisfying.

However, the start of the second half was the exact opposite until a scuffle in midfield derailed the momentum. Georgia State started the second half 4-5 from deep and cut Kentucky’s lead back to just six points. But when Panthers forward Clash Peters (aptly named) pushed Williams on a post-up, the officials (and head coach Mark Pope) had to intervene.

After the push that sent Williams to the ground, several players and coaches from both sides attacked to end the game. When the dust settled, Peters was assessed a technical foul and a flagrant foul, while Nutter was assessed a technical foul for Georgia State. In Kentucky, Oweh and Brea faced technical problems because of their involvement in the scuffle. Williams responded with six straight goals for the Cats.

Kentucky went on a 14-5 run over the next few minutes to regain control. With less than eight minutes left, UK took an 81-61 lead with five Wildcats now in double figures. However, Kentucky was hardly finished erasing the lead as the lead quickly grew to over 30 as time went on. Trent Noah And Travis Perry I would check in in less than two minutes to put the icing on the cake.

Next up: Kentucky will travel on the road for the first time since November 12th when they play the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday, December 3rd. Tipoff on ESPN is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EST.