Just In: No. 8 Kentucky is coming together, and Georgia State is their next goal.

There is a big difference between what people in the “Big Blue Nation” are used to seeing in basketball right now in Lexington, Kentucky.

Eighth Kentucky has a brand-new team and a brand-new coach. It doesn’t seem to have made a difference after six games.

Their record is 6-0 so far, and they will play Georgia State at home on Friday. Kentucky is off to its best start since the 2016–17 season, when it won its first nine games under first-year head coach Mark Pope and a completely new team.

Western Kentucky was no match for the Wildcats in their last game, which they won 87–68 at home on Tuesday. Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and Andrew Carr, who came from Oklahoma and Wake Forest, each scored 18 points to lead the team to win. The Wildcats only made 40.3% of their shots from the field, but they tried 42 free throws and made 29 of them.

Pope thinks it’s important for his team to learn how to defend well.

“We weren’t functioning great on offence, but we were finding joy on the defensive side of the ball,” the Pope said. “That is a good way to do things. There will be times when we need to win on defence. That well is where we can find real happiness. If we keep going back to it, we have a chance to win a lot of games.

As of Wednesday, Kentucky’s 95.3 points per game were the second best in the country. Oweh scores 16.5 points per game for the Wildcats, and Koby Brea, a graduate from Dayton, scores 14.8. Carr and BYU newcomer Jaxson Robinson both score 10.8 points per game, and Lamont Butler, a former star at San Diego State, scores 11.7 points per game.

“It’s fun to know we can win games in different ways,” the Pope said. “That is very important. It looks good for our team and our guys.

Georgia State is coming off of a 74-71 win over Tulsa in the Jacksonville Classic on Wednesday. The Panthers (4-3) saved their trip to Florida by converting a three-point play with two seconds left to seal the win. On Tuesday, they lost to Austin Peay.

Every game, Nutter scores 17.2 points for Georgia State. On Wednesday, he scored 22 points for the Panthers, with his last three points being the most important.

“All we did was try to get the ball to him,” said Jonas Hayes, head coach of Georgia State. “We were going to make a high ball screen and let him run and decide what to do.” On a neutral floor, we were able to play with a lot of poise. I thought we were strong enough to handle the runs that Tulsa made. They were able to answer, and we got the win.

Hayes’ team will have little time to rest before going to Kentucky for its biggest test of the season. It is the Panthers’ second of three games against SEC teams. On Nov. 8, they lost 101–66 at Mississippi State, and on Dec. 17, they will travel to No. 4 Auburn.

Toneri Lane scores 15.3 points per game after Nutter, and Cesare Edwards scores 11.