Kentucky hosts Monmouth Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum

Kentucky will host Monmouth on Thursday night in Lexington, with the Wildcats opening a three-game homestand at Memorial Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The game will air on the SEC Network. Kentucky enters the matchup off a 77-51 season-opening win over Nicholls in which the Wildcats’ offense came alive in the second half, while Monmouth arrives after a win that featured a 20-point outing from Alexis Davis.

Kentucky struggled through a disjointed first half against Nicholls but outscored the Colonels 49-36 after intermission to pull away. Sophomore guard Collin Chandler provided the spark, scoring a career-high 15 points, including a highlight dunk that energized the crowd. Otega Oweh finished with 13 points, freshman Jasper Johnson had 11, and transfer Denzel Aberdeen added 10 as Kentucky shot 61 percent in the second half and made seven 3-pointers after a 3-of-15 start.

Coach Mark Pope said the team’s depth and second-half adjustments were encouraging but emphasized caution on injuries. Sophomore guard Trent Noah left with what appeared to be a right ankle injury late in the first half and did not return. Pope said Noah was available for warmups before the second half and...