Brandon Garrison’s junior season with the Kentucky Wildcats didn’t turn out as he had expected. His time on the court has reduced significantly of late. The Wildcats junior is currently averaging 15.4 minutes per game, which is considerably lower than his 17.3 minutes during his sophomore year and 22.3 minutes during his debut college season with Oklahoma State. Despite these hurdles, Wildcats head coach Mark Pope considers Brandon Garrison valuable by his side based on a unique metric.

In a conversation, head coach Pope highlighted Garrison’s prowess of generating points, whenever given the opportunity. “He’s our second most efficient points per possession player in high major games,” Pope said. “We have three guys over one point for possession, he’s the second highest overall one.”

Besides Garrison’s efficiency, his shooting from the field has been noteworthy. The Oklahoma City native has hit 34-56 from the field so far, at 60.7%, validating his prowess as a valuable asset for Pope and the Wildcats. Among the players who have participated in more than 10 matches, Garrison FG percentage stands out in second, trailing just behind Malachi Moreno’s 65.1 percent.

Notably, in his recent game off the bench too, Garrison’s performance contributed in his team’s 92-68 victory against the Mississippi State on Sunday. The victory was a crucial one for the Pope and Wildcats, following consecutive defeats against Alabama and Missouri.

Pope and the Wildcats’ next challenge is at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against the LSU Tigers on Jan. 14. The Tigers’ form has tumbled in the recent few games of the season. Matt McMahon’s side have lost their last three consecutive games after conceding just one defeat in their first 13 games of the season.

Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats Suffers Distressing News Before LSU Tigers Game

While Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats search for a much-needed victory against a desperate LSU Tigers, he will be without two standout campaigners, Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance. While Lowe is out of the season with a shoulder injury, Quaintance is facing discomfort in his knee.

This is a massive setback for Pope, considering the qualities both players bring to the table. While Quaintance offers elite shooting from the field, strength, and athleticism, Lowe brings strategic pass making. “It’s been a challenge, not unlike every team faces, right? So, it’s not a unique challenge in the sense of every team is facing it,” Pope said during a recent press conference, while addressing the challenges of facing LSU without Lowe and Quaintance.

“It is a challenge of trying to establish identity mostly because those two pieces are very unique to our team. Jaland Lowe brings something to our team that no one can bring and JQ brings something that nobody else brings. So they’re both important parts of it.”

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With Lowe and Quaintance sidelined, Mark Pope will have to lean on his veterans. Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen have been the steady hands for Kentucky all season, playing in all 16 games so far. Oweh has carried the scoring load, while Aberdeen has quietly run the offense, leading the team in assists. Their consistency will matter even more now as the Wildcats try to steady themselves.

However, with Lowe and Quainatance out, Oweh and Aberdeen will have to cover the extra yards at Baton Rouge on Wednesday to return with a victory from the road. The elite offense of the Tigers won’t give away anything easy to the Wildcats despite the team’s dip in form, and that is something coach Pope will have to deal with.

Dedan Thomas Jr, Mike Nwoko, Max Mackinnon, and Marquel Sutton have all averaged over 12 points per game in the season for LSU and will pose a formidable challenge to the Wildcats’ defense. Can coach Mark Pope guide his team to a victory against the Tigers on Wednesday in Lowe and Quaintance’s absence? What do you think?