RAPID REACTION | Missing pieces were back, and so was Kentucky in 78-66 win over St. John's

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Rick Pitino brought the press. Mark Pope brought the pliers, the elbow grease and a couple of teenagers who don’t blink.

This wasn’t the five-alarm, 15-three, blur-ball Kentucky team anyone expected when the season tipped off. It was something better. Something tougher. These weren’t Bombinos. More like Monsters of Midway.

A team with a point guard in Jaland Lowe who shrugs off a shoulder scare like it’s a wrinkle in his jersey. A center in Jayden Quaintance who plays like he’s been holding grudges since birth, or at least since the last time he got to play a competitive game.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

Kentucky didn’t run away from St. John’s. They walked them down. One rebound, one stop, one low-post body blow at a time.

Final score: Kentucky 78, St. John’s 66, and the only thing flashy about it was the moment the Wildcats finally looked like a team nobody should want to see in March.

And maybe the second it took Pitino to give a quick handshake to his protégé after his first loss to Pope (the two had dinner the night prior with some other Pitino alums).

Quick takeaways from a huge win for Kentucky that broke the ice on an 0-for-4 start against ranked opponents.

Rick Pitino shouts to his team during a loss to Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
Associated Press

Lowe and Quaintance change everything

Transfer point guard Jaland Lowe (13 points, 5-7 FG, 3 assists in 15 minutes) gave Kentucky clarity in the chaos and even returned after a shoulder scare. Center Jayden Quaintance (10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks in 17 minutes) made his debut, seeing his first minutes in a Kentucky uniform since transferring from Arizona State and recovering from kne surgery.

He changed the physical tone inside, cleaning the glass and finishing over and through St. John’s forwards. The Wildcats shot 55 percent in the second half and outscored St. John’s 53-34 after intermission, fueled by this duo's balance.

Otega Oweh leads the tone-setters

With Lowe at the point and a renewed inside presence, Otega was albe to resume his role as off-ball intimidator. He was relentless, finishing with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals in 34 minutes, and most of it came after halftime. He turned St. John's turnovers into transition buckets and free throws (8-of-9 FT).

The second-half bench brigade

Kentucky’s bench scored 32 of its 53 second-half points, including a breakout 11-point performance from Kam Williams, who hit two big threes and was 5-of-6 at the line. Dioubate, Garrison, and Moreno all contributed key stretches and for the first time against a quality team this season, Kentucky’s depth looked more like a weapon than a question mark.

Kentucky outrebounded St. John’s by 11. It outscored them 40-10 off the bench and 30-20 in the paint. These are staples of Pitino success. Kentucky beat him at his game Saturday.

Now: Stay healthy

With the rotation finally resembling what Pope envisioned, this was the most complete — and most defensively sound — Kentucky has looked all year. But Lowe (shoulder) and Quaintance remain must-monitor players. Kentucky has shown what it can be. Now it has to keep it on the court.