Mouhamed Dioubaté scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds to help No. 9 Kentucky earn a 99-53 victory over Eastern Illinois Friday night in Lexington, Ky.
Denzel Aberdeen had 13 points and Otega Oweh added 12 for the Wildcats (3-1), who rebounded from a 96-88 loss to No. 12 Louisville on Tuesday.
Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno had 11 points each for Kentucky, which shot 60.9 percent from the field and finished 9 of 25 from 3-point range.
Terry McMorris scored 18 points, three blocked shots and two steals for the Panthers (1-3), who never led. Andrew Austin made three triples while adding 13 points for Eastern Illinois.
The Wildcats held a sizable 49-17 advantage in rebounding, Kentucky also had a 24-6 advantage in fast break points.
Dioubaté scored 10 points in each half. He also stopped two shots and made two interceptions.
Eastern Illinois made just 32.7 percent of its shots and hit 6 of 18 from behind the arc.
Brandon Garrison scored six points during a 13-0 opening run that gave the Wildcats a 15-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
Kentucky reeled off 13 straight points again later in the half. Aberdeen capped that run with a steal and dunk to make it 32-13 with 8:52 left.
The lead grew to 30 on Trent Noah’s layup with 42 seconds left before the Wildcats led 47-19 going into the break.
Oweh scored back-to-back baskets to open the second half and push Kentucky’s lead back above 30.
A McMorris basket brought Eastern Illinois within 53-23 with 17:13 left before the Wildcats scored 12 straight points. Jelavic’s steal and layup ended that streak to give him a 42-point margin with 13:43 to play.
The Panthers scored 10 of the next 13 points, with Kooper Jacobi’s jumper cutting their deficit to 68-33 with 9:54 left.
Aberdeen’s steal and dunk pushed Kentucky’s lead to 76-36 with 7:15 to play.
The advantage reached 47 for the first time on Jelavic’s dunk with 2:02 remaining.
–Field level media
