In a span of seven days, Kentucky basketball has been severely outplayed on the national stage twice.

First, it was against the Louisville Cardinals, Kentucky’s biggest rival. Most recently, it came against the Michigan State Spartans in the Champions Classic.

A team that entered the season with Final Four expectations looks like a glimmer of that, now sitting with a record of 3-2. Fortunately, the season is still young, and there’s still plenty of time to get things turned around, but progress has to be made, and fast.

Next up, the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds come to Rupp Arena on Friday night. A game that won’t appease the fans, but nonetheless, where progress can be made. If you want to be hopeful, these teams have only faced off once before, as the 2012 National Title team beat them 87-63.

Led by second-year head coach Josh Loerffler, who made a name for himself in Division III before jumping to Loyola, the Greyhounds are looking for their first winning season in more than a decade. They were picked to finish in the middle of the pack of the Patriot League.

Here’s what you need to watch for on Friday for Kentucky vs. Loyola.

Injury Report

It’s no secret the injury bug is running rampant on Kentucky yet again. Junior point guard Jaland Lowe remains out with a shoulder injury, while junior forward Mo Dioubate suffered an ankle injury vs. Michigan State.

On Thursday, Mark Pope said Lowe remains day-to-day and still has a shot of playing again this season, even though he’s not playing Friday night.

As for Dioubate, Pope says he’ll be a game-time decision and has a decent chance of missing this game. That would mean more playing time for Trent Noah, Andrija Jelavic, and Kam Williams.

Run, Run, Run

This Kentucky team’s offense has been putrid to watch at times, especially in the half-court. While they can out-athlete and out-physical Loyola to better shots, they need to shoot better shots in the flow of the offense, and the best way for them to do that is transition.

Mark Pope’s offense is at its best in transition, where he emphasizes, “make the simple play.”

The Wildcats don’t force many turnovers, but they will have many transition opportunities against the Greyhounds, who are one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. Kentucky needs to capitalize on those.

Shot Selection

The most frustrating part of Kentucky’s losses to Louisville and Michigan State has been their stagnant offense and poor shot selection.

Mark Pope, who is supposed to be one of college basketball’s best offensive minds, has yet to find a way to produce with the most talented roster of his career. Against Louisville, Kentucky scored 88 points, but there were stretches of poor shot selection that led to big deficits. Against Michigan State, it was 40 minutes of poor shot selection as the Wildcats shot just 35.1 percent from the field.

Increased ball movement, multiple touches in the paint per possession, and fewer mid-range jump shots are all things that need to be seen.

Confidence

While Mark Pope dispelled the rumors of team chemistry during his Thursday press conference, it is clear that the guys are struggling to understand and perform in their roles. While a game vs. a mid-major won’t solve much, if anything, it can provide a much-needed spark of confidence and energy for this team.

The players and even Pope himself were clearly shaken after their beatdown at MSG. Friday’s game needs to be one that can help get this team back in the right mindset.

Players to Know

G Jacob Theodosiou 6-4, 204 lbs

• 16.4 PPG
• 5.6 RPG
• 3.0 APG

G Braeden Speed 6-3, 190 lbs

• 14.2 PPG
• 4.2 RPG
• 3.0 APG

F Jonas Sirtautas 6-10, 205 lbs

• 8.4 PPG
• 6.2 RPG
• 2.4 BPG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Loyola Maryland Greyhounds

• Time: 7:00 PM ET on November 21, 2025
• Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Kentucky
• TV Channel: SEC Network+
• Announcers: Darren Headrick and Cameron Mills
• Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
• Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
• Rosters: UK | LUM
• Stats to Know: UK | LUM
• KenPom: UK | LUM
• Team Sheet: UK | LUM

• Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, so check back later for those. As for the metrics, KenPom 99.6%, EvanMiya 99.3%, ESPN 99%, and BartTorvik 98% are all heavily favoring the Wildcats’ odds of winning Friday night.
• Predictions: BartTorvik 93-62, Haslametrics 92-63, KenPom 91-62, and EvanMiya 91-63 all project a big win for the home team. While this game won’t do much to move the needle, it’s an opportunity to improve nonetheless, so I’m going with a 94-66 victory, Kentucky!

Let us know your score prediction for Friday night!

Also posted to A Sea of Blue.

Spirits for Kentucky football seem to be at an all-time low in Lexington.

Saturday’s 35-13 blowout loss to South Carolina marked seven consecutive SEC losses. It has been a whole calendar year since the Wildcats recorded an SEC victory.

Thus far, the combination of Zach Calzada and Cutter Boley ranks dead last in the SEC in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing yards per game. 

Many Wildcats fans pleaded for Boley to start in Calzada’s place after Calzada failed to pass a touchdown against Toledo and Ole Miss while completing less than 50% of his passes.

However, Boley hasn’t revived a dead passing game. Although Boley’s 240-yard passing and two-touchdown passing performance was promising, it was against a one-win Eastern Michigan team at home.

In his third career start against the Gamecocks, Kentucky’s offense was exposed against a Power Four defense. Boley was unable to score a touchdown while giving up three turnovers; one resulted in a scoop-and-score, and the other was a pick six. 

Kentucky was outscored 28-3 after the first quarter. 

Under offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who was hired ahead of the 2024 season, the Wildcats are last in the SEC in scoring with a 23.79 points per game average. In addition to an SEC-worst 178.3 passing yards per game. 

Hamdan’s quarterbacks have thrown for 17 touchdowns and 20 interceptions across 16 games. For reference, Alabama has thrown for 15 touchdowns in four games this season. 

The biggest bright spot for Kentucky’s offense has been the running game, which has improved from 2024, especially with the emergence of Seth McGowan. 

However, since 2024, the Wildcats 21 rushing touchdowns rank last in the SEC, and the yards per game average is the fifth worst in the conference.

Going into the season, Hamdan’s return was perceived as a good move, especially for continuity purposes.

Kentucky’s offense kept receiver Ja’Mori Maclin despite transfer portal rumors, while receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown both departed in the portal, but the Wildcats were able to secure four-star wideout Kendrick Law from Alabama to supplant the losses. 

Personnel isn’t necessarily the issue.

It had been five years since an offensive coordinator returned for a consecutive season under head coach Mark Stoops. However, at this rate, Hamdan’s job is at serious risk. 

Hamdan, in my opinion, should be fired and the Wildcats will likely go winless in the SEC. 

This weekend Kentucky faces No. 12 Georgia on the road. Stoops is 0-10 against the Bulldogs. The Wildcats haven’t won in Stanford Stadium since 2009. 

After Georgia, the Wildcats will host Texas. The Longhorns this season have held opponents to an SEC-best average of 7.75 points and only 211 yards on average. 

No. 15 Tennessee will visit Kroger Field in late October. The Volunteers have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation.

Kentucky’s final SEC games include road trips to Auburn and No. 16 Vanderbilt and hosting Florida between those road games. 

Unfortunately, Hamdan hasn’t shown enough to consistently compete against SEC foes.

Of course, the Wildcats close their season with their annual Governor’s Cup bout against the currently undefeated Louisville Cardinals, potentially another ranked squad that Kentucky will face this season.

The ugly reality is Boley hasn’t performed well outside of mid-major opponents. In five career appearances against Power Four schools, Boley has a 44.2% completion percentage, 370 yards, zero touchdowns and seven turnovers.

Thus far, Boley has shown that he’s not ready to be a starter in the SEC.

If the Wildcats go winless in the SEC, talks of Stoops’ exit will be the loudest they’ve ever been. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart would be looking at a $38 million buyout with Stoops, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. 

It would be a much easier financial decision to fire Hamdan, who is set to earn $1.45 million next year, however, it wouldn’t necessarily appease fans as much as a Stoops buyout.

Regardless of Stoops’ status, I don’t see Hamdan wearing a headset for the Wildcats much longer. 

On Friday, the Lexington Police Department reported that they arrested Kentucky football running back Jamarion Wilcox, charged with first-degree sexual abuse.

The arrest comes after a month-long investigation by the Special Victim Section Detectives into an incident that occurred at a home on the 500 block of South Upper Street on August 20th, where a woman reported unwanted sexual contact. He was lodged at the Fayette County Detention Center.

In the state of Kentucky, the charge of sexual abuse, first degree, is considered a class D felony. If convicted, Wilcox could face 1 to 5 years of imprisonment.

Wilcox was the Wildcats’ leading rusher last season as a redshirt freshman, but has not appeared in a game this season.

The investigation remains ongoing, and police are asking anyone with information regarding the case to contact the Lexington Police Department at (859) 258-3600.