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Men's Basketball

History Shows Losses to Unranked Teams Can Lead to Success

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Kentucky is not the only top-ranked team to have suffered an embarrassing loss in the regular season.

With that being said, it does suck when your team is embarrassed early in the year, especially to a team like Evansville

The reaction on social media to the loss hasn’t been surprising. Of course, all of the other fan bases are making fun of us, so if you get into a Twitter fight with a Tennessee fan, just be ready for the “Evansville” reply.

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But, inside the BBN, the response on social media has been 50/50.

A fair amount of people are losing their minds and overreacting, while some fans are staying level-headed and know that when March comes around, the Cats will be right in the mix.

If the Calipari era has taught us anything, it’s that the losses in November and early December (embarrassing or not) don’t really matter.

Now, they certainly help if you win, but they don’t hurt nearly as much as they would in January or February.

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A loss like last Tuesday will probably come back to haunt Kentucky with seeding come tournament time, but it will definitely help the team.

With that, let’s take a look at embarrassing losses by some top teams and where their season ended.

No. 1 North Carolina/Northern Iowa: November 21, 2015

Kentucky lost to a sub-.500 UCLA team early in 2015-16, but Kentucky’s loss was not nearly as bad as this one.

Justin Jackson dropped 25 points for the Tarheels but their next leading scorer was Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson both with 10.

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Northern Iowa’s starting five combined for 69 of their 71 points that night, including 11 three-pointers, which gave them the 71-67 win over the Tarheels.

So close, just as they were to a national title that year.

Season results: NCAA Tournament Runner-Up, Record: 33-7

No.4 North Carolina/Santa Clara: January 19, 2004

Santa Clara’s most prominent alum is former NBA MVP, Steve Nash, but this game happened far after Nash’s time, and the Broncos were now a borderline .500 team.

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Santa Clara outright won this game 77-66 as the rebounding battle shows, as the Broncos controlled the glass 40-37 overall, and dominated on the defensive boards 24-16.

Following this game, the Tarheels won 19 of their next 20 including three ranked opponents and went on to win Roy William’s first national title.

Season Results: NCAA Champions, Record: 33-4

No. 8 Michigan State/Wright State: December 30, 1999

Coined the “Upset of the Millenium”, a Wright State team that finished the season 11-17, beat the eventual national champion, Michigan State Spartans, 53-49.

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In the words of Tom Izzo, the Spartans, “were totally outplayed from start to finish.” However, the Spartans weren’t outplayed many times following this game, going 23-3 en route to a national title victory over Florida.

Season Results: NCAA Champion, Record: 32-7

Syracuse/Rutgers: January 29, 2003

Carmelo Anthony is considered to be one of the greatest freshmen in college basketball history, but on January 29, 2003, he was not the best player on the floor.

That title belongs to Jerome Coleman who scored 31 points (12-23 FG) and helped an eventual 12-16 Rutgers team to upset the Orange.

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Jim Boeheim and Company followed this game with a victory over No. 2 Pittsburgh and won 14 of their last 15 games, including a national title victory.

Season Results: NCAA Champion, Record: 30-5

No. 23 Butler/Evansville: November 27, 2010

Evansville may have just won their first game against a No. 1 AP team, but they are no stranger to upsets, beating an eventual NCAA Runner-Up Butler team 71-68 in overtime back in 2010.

The game was close but Butler’s 17 turnovers cost them the game. This Butler team turned it around and was a shot away from winning a title over Duke.

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Season Results: NCAA Runner-Up, Record: 28-10

What did we learn?

In all of this, these losses don’t mean much. Like I said, really all they do is embarrass you, humble you, and make you better (Dang, I should be a head coach).

Kentucky will be just fine.

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Men's Basketball

Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno Earn Conference Preseason Honors

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Photo via Chet White | UK Athletics

On Monday, Oct. 12, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno both earned All-SEC preseason honors, with the Iowa State transfer selected to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team and the returning sophomore selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team.

Momcilovic is entering his senior season with the Wildcats, looking to follow up his junior campaign after reigning as the undisputed best shooter in college basketball. He averaged 16.9 points per game last year, with his shooting splits reading 50.6/48.7/87.8.

Leading the Cyclones to a No. 2 seed and being selected to All-Big 12 Second Team, it’s safe to say that this isn’t the first time that Momcilovic has been left off of the top list, making the Kentucky superstar hungry to prove the haters wrong on a much larger stage.

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Moreno is returning for his sophomore season after earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors last year, looking to show the Big Blue Nation everything he learned throughout the draft process and that he has changed this summer.

The Kentucky native was thrown into the fire, earning 30 unexpected starts for the Wildcats. He developed as the season went on, ending the 2025-26 campaign averaging 7.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.

With both Momcilovic and Moreno as staple players on this year’s roster, the SEC has slated Mark Pope’s team to finish seventh in the conference this season, finishing behind Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt.

The full lists of the All-SEC Teams can be found below:

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First Team

  • Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  • Juke Harris (Tennessee)
  • Thomas Haugh (Florida)
  • Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)
  • Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)

Second Team

  • Amari Allen (Alabama)
  • Alex Condon (Florida)
  • Milan Momcilovic (Kentucky)
  • Jordan Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
  • Matas Vokietaitis (Texas)

Third Team

  • PJ Haggerty (Texas A&M)
  • Malachi Moreno (Kentucky)
  • Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)
  • David Punch (Texas)
  • Billy Richmond III (Arkansas)

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Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Shows Flashes in First NBA Preseason Appearances

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Photo via Getty Images

Former Kentucky standout Otega Oweh took another step in his basketball career on Tuesday night, making his NBA preseason debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder and taking on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Oweh came off of the bench and played 28 minutes, finishing with six points, six rebounds, two steals, one block and an assist. The former Wildcat struggled offensively, shooting only 3-of-9 from the field and missing all four of his free throw attempts.

Despite the shooting struggles, Oweh showed flashes of his defensive ability and physicality that made him a fan favorite during his two seasons in Lexington.

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The Pelicans escaped with a 116-110 win, leaving the Thunder with a 0-1 record. The next night wouldn’t draw a different result, with Oweh’s team losing by two and only playing the beloved superstar a total of 16 minutes.

Due to foul trouble, this would be the only minutes he would receive, ending the game with two points on three shots.

Oweh was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Thunder after averaging 18.6 points per game during his senior season at Kentucky, joining former Wildcats Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Although his preseason debut wasn’t the offensive performance he might have hoped for, Oweh will have more than enough opportunities to prove himself as he looks to earn a role in a professional rotation.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Competes at Annual Pro Day Inside of Rupp Arena

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Photo via Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

Kentucky held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, where NBA scouts were able to watch the team go through individual drills and a live game-like scrimmage. There are plenty of takeaways that stood out during the two hour practice. Let’s dive into it:

1.) Franck Kepnang Shows Off in the Paint

The first thing that stood out was transfer big man Franck Kepnang, with the seven-foot big from Washington dominating in the paint. Starting with the individual drills, he showed his size and ability to get downhill off of a pick-and-roll.

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The bigs went through a finishing through contact drill, and the new Wildcat seemed unfazed by the pads being pounded against him. With Moreno and Kepnang running the paint together, it will make it very difficult for opposing teams to stop both of them.

2.) Ousmane N’Diaye Has High-Scoring Performance

Overseas big Ousmane N’Diaye was another standout in front of the NBA scouts. In the first six-minute “quarter”, N’Diaye led all scorers with eight points.

He showed off his ability to score at all three levels, hitting multiple threes and also demonstrating his ability to score in the paint. N’Diaye wasn’t playing the five spot, which really allowed his team to stretch the floor and help with spacing.

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With Moreno, Kepnang, N’Diaye and Reece Potter all standing at seven-feet tall, Mark Pope has the opportunity to run a four-big lineup all while each player hones a different skillset. Having this much size will pay dividends come time for conference play.

3. The Forwards Do a Little Bit of Everything

A few other players who performed well were Milan Momcilovic and Braydon Hawthorne. Momcilovic played very unselfish during the inter-squad scrimmage, looking to first get his teammates involved and not forcing his game whatsoever.

He did hit a nice step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second “quarter”, highlighting his 10-point performance. Hawthorne had some great looks from beyond the arc and did a phenomenal job getting his teammates open, driving and distributing the rock.

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He finished with six points and one assist.

Overall, the whole team appeared molded together and played as a unit rather than just isolation ball, which is a great sign in early October. There is no shortage of individual talent on this roster, and that was evident on Tuesday, with leaders and experience at every position.

The wait is almost over BBN. Kentucky will take the court in its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 16, when Little Rock comes into town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.

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