Kentucky falls in SEC opener at Missouri

(WYMT) - It was ugly from beginning to end for John Calipari and company.

Kobe Brown and the Missouri Tigers dominated Kentucky 89-75 to hand the Wildcats a loss to open up SEC play.

Missouri (12-1, 1-0 SEC) opened up the game on a 15-5 run before the first media timeout, immediately showing their offensive efficiency.

A 8-2 run by the Wildcats capitalized by a three-pointer by Cason Wallace to cut the Mizzou lead to four with just over 10 minutes to play, but a quick 7-0 run in just over a minute by Tiger guard Sean East II put Kentucky down double digits, a deficit they struggled to climb out of.

The Wildcats’ were bit by the injury bug again just about a minute later, when CJ Fredrick left the game with an injured finger. He received medical treatment and remained on the bench, but was ruled out during the second half.

Kentucky (8-4, 0-1) cut the Missouri lead to under 10 points only once in the second half.

Oscar Tshiebwe led the Wildcats with another double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Brown had a game high 30 points to lead the Tigers.

UK returns to Lexington on Saturday to host rival Louisville in Rupp Arena. Tip is set for noon and you can watch the game on WYMT.