Isaiah Briscoe scored 18 points, Jamal Murray added 16, and No. 1 Kentucky overcame a sluggish first half to defeat visiting Illinois State, 75-63.
Out-hustled on both ends by the athletic Redbirds through 20 minutes while adjusting to playing without the injured starting point guard Tyler Ulis, the Wildcats (7-0) emerged from halftime more physical and used that energy to gain some breathing room.
Outrebounded by 20-12 in the first half, Kentucky beat Illinois State, 27-17, on the boards and held the Redbirds (3-5) to 29 percent shooting in the second half.
Marcus Lee added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double in five games, and Alex Poythress had 11 points for Kentucky.