It was a weird night inside Rupp Arena, one that included a sloppy start and a rowdy finish leading to a blowout victory for the Kentucky Wildcats over the Georgia State Panthers. There was a fight, free ice cream and everything in between.

How did Mark Pope coach his team to another win en route to a 7-0 start on the year, the team’s best since 2016-17 and one victory away from the best start since 2014-15? How about some of the other highlights? KSR’s got the ten best things from the win.

1. Clash Peters gets bullied into oblivion

You hate to punch down on a zero-star kid playing for Georgia State, but when you’re a dirty basketball player whose uncle also happens to be a Duke villain with a similarly stupid name, it happens. Cherokee Parks’ nephew, Clash Peters, became enemy No. 1 of Big Blue Nation on Friday for undercutting Amari Williams on a pass inside leading to a brouhaha resulting in technicals also called on Koby Brea, Otega Oweh and Zarique Nutter of the Panthers. Mark Pope even got out there to split players up and cool down the emotions before things got any further out of hand.

Trash Peters has been ejected. https://t.co/8BHP1iShms pic.twitter.com/rtYquPPi6Y

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) November 30, 2024

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If the public shame wasn’t enough inside Rupp Arena, fans then proceeded to dig up old photos of young Clash rocking Duke gear with a terrible haircut next to Zion Williamson.

Oh, and Clash in a Duke sweater and jorts doing his best to look mysterious as he gazes away from the camera.

None of us knew Clash Peters existed before tonight. Now he’s hated for eternity by the most passionate fanbase in college basketball. Funny how life works.

2. Plus-21 after the fight

It was an eight-point lead with 12:37 to go when all hell broke loose, Peters leading the four-technical sequence that included a ten-minute stoppage of play. That point forward, the Wildcats went on a 44-23 run to close out the game, turning a 61-53 lead into a 105-76 win.

There wasn’t a ton to love about Kentucky’s start, Georgia State down just two points with five minutes to go in the first half. The Cats responded with a 17-1 run to lead by as many as 18 before going into the break up 48-33, only to let that lead slip away down to just six, then eight right before the scuffle and statement finish.

If we can somehow bottle that energy from the 5:06 mark to the 1:08 mark in the first half, then everything after the fight, we’d be in good shape.

3. Mark Pope gives away free ice cream

Waiting for Coach Pope’s first misstep in Lexington? It didn’t come against Georgia State.

The Cats ran away with it, plus the Kentucky head coach jumped in the thick of things when it got chippy — he joked he’s just happy he didn’t pull a hamstring jogging out there. His best moment, though, came during postgame radio when he told the crowd that while he couldn’t stay after to sign autographs, the Popes did leave the family credit card at the ice cream stand so fans could get a cone or two on their way out of Rupp Arena.

“The word on the street is, here in Rupp Arena, we have the best ice cream in the world,” Pope said. “So, Mrs. Lee Anne dropped her credit card off at the ice cream stand right up here, so it’s on me tonight. Go help yourselves. Get some ice cream on the way out. Enjoy it, and thank you guys for coming here. Let’s go Cats.”

No one else in the country is doing that.

4. Seven players in double figures

I don’t have the stats in front of me, but I doubt anyone else in the country has seven players finishing in double digits in a single game, either. Kentucky entered the matchup with five different Wildcats averaging between 10.8 and 16.5 points, plus another right behind with 9.3. Tonight, we saw seven players score between 10 and 19 points, everyone with at least 20 minutes hitting the double-figure mark.

Jaxson Robinson led the way with 19, followed by Lamont Butler with 17, Amari Williams with 14, Otega Oweh and Ansley Almonor with 12 and Andrew Carr and Koby Brea with 10. Kerr Kriisa is the only guy who played at least six minutes (16) and did not hit that barrier, yet he still managed to go for nine and did his best to add another bucket — more on that in a second.

Doesn’t get more well-rounded than that.

5. Rupp Arena was on a different planet

It feels like we talk about the crowd after every game, but my goodness, Rupp Arena was unbelievable against Georgia State. Sun Belt competition in 30-degree weather on Black Friday? No problem — the venue was packed from top to bottom.

Fans made their presence known, too, flipping the momentum when the Panthers fought to make a push and especially when the fight broke out in the second half. They were loud from the opening tip, but the pop on Kentucky’s big plays — Kerr Kriisa’s charges, Otega Oweh’s reverse dunk and basically whenever Clash Peters even thought about touching the ball — were special.

Then a good portion of those fans stuck around afterward to listen to Pope’s postgame radio show. Little did they know, they’d be leaving with words of wisdom and free ice cream.

6. Kerr Kriisa is Mr. 997

Wondering why No. 77 launched a trio of 3-pointers in the final 1:19 with the game well out of reach? It’s because Kriisa was just one shot away from his 1000th career point in college.

The fifth-year senior entered the game with 988 total points following stops at Arizona, West Virginia and now Kentucky. Going for nine in the first 38 minutes to bring him to 997, Kriisa reentered the game with 1:44 to go in hopes of getting three more to hit the 1,000-point mark. He missed all three, but you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, right? Odds are good he would’ve taken a couple more if there was additional time on the clock.

“It was actually super fun. All our guys were cheering like crazy for him. Demanding that he shoot it,” Pope said after the game. “And the one thing about Kerr: if you tell him to shoot the ball, he’s gonna shoot it.”

7. Patrick Sparks pump-faked as the Y

Kentucky has had an all-time run of special guest appearances this season with names including Dale Brown, Jim Andrews, Travis Ford and Dicky Lyons Jr. honored as celebratory Ys. That continued in a major way against Georgia State with none other than Patrick Sparks earning a roar from BBN at mid-court.

The best part? He pump-faked at the UK logo, just as he did in the corner against Louisville inside Freedom Hall back in 2004 to pull off the road win. In the spirit of rivalry week, he recreated his signature moment with fans enjoying every second.

Welcome back, No. 22.

8. 33-41 on 2-pointers

Kentucky finished just 7-26 from three, the team’s worst shooting night of the year and the second game in a row failing to hit the double-figure mark after doing it in each of the first five.

Instead, the Wildcats found a way to win inside the arc, going an impressive 33-41 on 2-pointers for an insane 80.5 percent finish. That’s how you manage to shoot 59.7 percent from the field overall despite a 26.9 percent mark from deep.

9. A 38-point difference in the paint

When you shoot 80 percent on twos, odds are good a solid chunk of those buckets are going to come inside the paint. That was the case for Kentucky, who racked up an impressive 62 points in that area.

Even better? Georgia State only scored 24 points in the paint, a surprise considering the team entered the game shooting just 33.8 percent from deep with its best player and leading scorer, Zarique Nutter, being a non-shooter. The Panthers have size, especially up top, but it didn’t really show as the Wildcats simply dominated inside while also winning the rebounding battle by nine.

10. Ansley Almonor is emerging as a fan-favorite

Doesn’t it feel like good things happen every time the Fairleigh Dickinson transfer enters the game? He had his best performance as a Wildcat, finishing with 12 points on 4-5 shooting and 2-3 from three to go with four rebounds and two steals in 24 minutes.

Kentucky was a bit short-handed in the frontcourt with Brandon Garrison held out “more as a precaution than anything else” with “a little bit of soreness,” but Almonor once again stepped up in a major way, just as he always does — this time in an expanded role. He came in knowing he wouldn’t be playing the most minutes or taking the most shots, but his impact on the game is just as important as anyone at this point.