Kentucky Basketball freshman big man Malachi Moreno continues to grow into one of the Wildcats’ most reliable frontcourt pieces, and Tuesday night in Columbia provided his strongest evidence yet.
Moreno finished with 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in Kentucky’s 72-63 win over South Carolina, which is a stat line no Kentucky freshman has matched in an SEC true road game since Karl-Anthony Towns did it nearly 11 years ago, according to Corey Price.
Towns posted 12 points, 13 rebounds, 4
blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists in a 71-69 win at LSU on Feb. 10, 2015. For Moreno to join him in that category speaks volumes about how quickly the 6-foot-11 freshman is maturing under head coach Mark Pope.
After the game, Pope said Moreno is working back to full health after battling injury, and his effort reflected the toughness the Wildcats needed to snap their three-game losing streak.
“He’s dealing with a, he’s working his body back into some health. He’s dealing with some situations,” Pope said after the game. “He was really important for us tonight. He always is.”
Moreno’s emergence comes at a pivotal moment for Kentucky, which improved to 18-10 and 9-6 in SEC play with the victory. As Kentucky pushes towards March, Moreno will have to be one of the key contributors for the frontcourt if they want to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
