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Kentucky vs. Alabama: Postgame Recap and Things to Know

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UK Athletics

On Saturday, the Kentucky Wildcats went on the road to Tuscaloosa to play arguably their toughest game on the schedule against No. 7 Alabama. Instead of capturing their first marque win of the season, the Wildcats walked out embarrassed.

The Crimson Tide jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead, scoring primarily off of layups and dunks from Alabama’s big man Charle Bediako. John Calipari responded by putting Oscar Tshiebwe on the bench, after poorly defending the pick and roll and generally looking unprepared.

This also coincided with Cason Wallace picking up a second foul, forcing him to the bench for the last fifteen minutes of the half. Yet, the Wildcats didn’t fold and fought to cut the game to a one-point deficit, 19-20, with under five minutes to go.

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However, Jacob Toppin, who had been the primary defender on Brandon Miller, picked up his second foul, and Alabama took full advantage. The Crimson Tide ended the half on an 8-2 run and a 35-24 lead.

The second half is when things really took a turn for the worse. Alabama opened the half with a 15-3 run and Kentucky never punched back. The Wildcat’s offense looked forced and their defense gave Alabama anything they wanted.

In the end, Alabama blew out Kentucky 78-52, handing Kentucky their largest loss in the John Calipari era. Nate Oat’s team looked like many Kentucky teams in the first decade of the Calipari era: star freshmen, long & athletic, and just imposing their will against their opponent.

Let’s take a closer look at Saturday’s all-systems failure.

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Not Oscar Tshiebwe’s or Cason Wallace’s Day

Oscar Tshiebwe (16.8 ppg) and Cason Wallace (12.9 ppg) entered Saturday’s game as Kentucky’s two leading scorers. Against Alabama, the duo combined for just six points on 2-20 (10%) shooting and five turnovers.

The troubles for the two didn’t stop on the offensive end, especially for Tshiebwe. Wallace made some uncharacteristic reads, but as mentioned previously, Tshiebwe struggled mightily to defend the pick-and-roll. After the game, Nate Oats said as so and that it was an emphasis for Alabama.

“We decided to attack him early on ball screens. I don’t think he’s very good at guarding ball screens,” Oats said on Tshiebwe. “We got behind him three times right out of the gate.”

This shouldn’t be expected to be a regular occurrence, but it shows just how reliant Kentucky is on the two, specifically on offense.

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Worst Twenty-Five Minutes of the Season

After a quick start from Alabama, Kentucky fought back and pushed themselves back in the game, down 19-20. However, over the last twenty-five minutes of the game, the Crimson Tide completely dominated on both ends of the court.

In a game of runs, Kentucky could only hold off for so long and they never had a run of their own to answer. After a strong defensive start, the floodgates opened and Alabama scored 58 points in the last twenty-five minutes of the game.

From the sidelines, the coaches were provided an even worse seat for the performance. “Gotta regroup, we’ve got a game Tuesday,” Calipari said. “I don’t even know if I want to watch the tape, maybe the first half.”

Any Positives?

It’s hard to find any positives, especially in an embarrassing loss, but we will reach and find two.

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For one, Kentucky’s bench played fairly well and brought toughness. While Calipari has been in the process of limiting the rotation, he played five players off the bench, including four with 10+ minutes (Collins, Onyenso, Reeves, and Thiero).

The biggest star off the bench was Antonio Reeves, who scored a team-high 20 points, including four made three-pointers. This was his first game with more than 11 points since November, and it was encouraging to see Reeves perform this well against elite competition.

The second positive, Kentucky outrebounded and attempted 19 more shots than Alabama. When this happens, 26-point blowouts are not usually the case. With Kentucky having this many extra shots, they need to play more “deliberate” as Calipari has been reiterating recently, which is something that did not appear to be the case on Saturday.


This team loses if it stays down. With that said, it will interesting to see how they respond against South Carolina on Tuesday, with a matchup at Tennessee on the horizon.

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Men's Basketball

Former Wildcats Headline Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals Matchup

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Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Kevin Jairaj | IMAGN

The NBA Finals tip off with familiar faces on both sides in the first-ever series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.

For the first time since 2012, when the Thunder were led by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City is in the NBA Finals. The franchise has the opportunity to earn its first title in Oklahoma City since the team’s rebrand and relocation in 2008.

As for the Pacers, it’s the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. Indiana is seeking its first championship in team history. 

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Oklahoma City’s superstar and crowning 2024-25 league MVP has continued his season-long dominance into the postseason. Averaging 31.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander impressed as the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1, as he led all but one game of the series in scoring. 

After an underwhelming performance in Game 3, Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a near triple-double performance, posting 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Oklahoma City defeated the Timberwolves narrowly, 128-126.

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The Thunder blew out Minnesota in Games 4 and 5 thanks to back-to-back massive performances by Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 34 and 40 points, respectively. Clinching his first bid to the NBA Finals. 

At midcourt after their Game 5 victory, OKC hoisted the Western Conference Trophy in front of their home crowd. Gilgeous-Alexander walked off with the Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson Trophy for his Western Conference Finals heroics.

Cason Wallace

Second-year pro Wallace is the Thunder’s ultimate plug-and-play contributor. Although Wallace isn’t a stat-stuffing machine like Gilgeous-Alexander, his defensive prowess stands out.

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In five games, the Kentucky product averaged 25.8 minutes per game off the bench. Wallace was often assigned to guard Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards. 

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged five points, 3.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and nearly a block and steal per game. 

Known for his hustle, Wallace excels at imposing himself on defense despite commonly matching up with larger opponents. His ability to disrupt the Timberwolves’ offense created offensive opportunities, which coincided with his pass-first mentality on offense.

Wallace could be found stealing from 7-foot-1 Frenchman Rudy Gobert in the post and nailing 3-pointers on the other end.

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In Game 5, Wallace scored only five points but had two rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Helping OKC seal a commanding 124-94 victory to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.

Isaiah Jackson

The tallest former Wildcat out of the bunch, Jackson stands at 6-foot-9 as a physical off-the-bench presence for Indiana.

Unfortunately, the big man won’t be available to play in the NBA Finals. In the fifth game of the season, Jackson suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on Nov. 1 in a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. 

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This season Jackson made six appearances for the Pacers, including a start against the Boston Celtics early in the season. Posting seven points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Despite the injury, the four-year Pacer would still receive a ring if Indiana wins for his short-lived contribution this season.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips-off on Thursday, June 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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Men's Basketball

The 2025-26 Cats Consensus: It’s Time for Banner Number Nine

Every new and returning Wildcat shares the same dream: bringing a championship trophy to Lexington once more.

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Mark Pope in a crowd of fans at Big Blue Madness
Tyler Ruth | UK Athletics

“We are here to win banners.”

While just about everything Mark Pope said at his introductory press conference went viral in one way or another, that aforementioned declaration stood out amongst his crowd of quotes like no other to a fanbase more than a decade removed from a national championship.

To the big blue nation, Coach Pope’s words last spring were a much needed battle cry. Now, as he’s set to enter his second year at the helm, Pope has made sure the team he assembled for the 2025-26 season shares the same hunger.

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It begins on a basic level, with players across the board throwing the number “9” around on social media in posts, replies, and commitments. Much like the Kentucky faithful, the newest roster to roll through Lexington isn’t afraid to make reference to the top task at hand.

For (likely) starting point guard Jaland Lowe, it’s an opportunity he “can’t miss.” “See y’all soon #BBN,” he said in a post on X, announcing his return to the collegiate level. Lowe chose a junior season at Kentucky over a chance to be chosen in the NBA Draft. Otega Oweh, the now-projected SEC player of the year, would follow suit shortly thereafter.

The Ultimate Goal

Andrija Jelavic, a primary member of the incoming unit, as well as the team’s lone international player, dubbed the title chase as “the ultimate goal” in his interview with KY Insider. “We all [the team] agree that the ultimate goal is the same and that is to bring a championship to Kentucky, to the state and the fans,” he said.

To Jelavic, it goes further than hunger. It’s a responsibility.

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And that responsibility is what sets Kentucky apart from other programs. As awkward as the conversation around John Calipari can get, when push comes to shove, much of the dissatisfaction growing within the fanbase as his tenure came to a close was rooted in the coach’s apparent disinterest in winning another championship.

Year after year went by; top-ranked roster after top ranked roster. After a while, it seemed that Kentucky was more often mentioned in the first round of the NBA Draft than it was in the NCAA Tournament. The problem persisted, the tension festered and, ultimately, the two sides split… and it all goes back to that elusive ninth title.

Name on the Front of the Jersey

Mark Pope has said before that he wants to bring in guys who are playing for the name on the front of their jersey. It just so happens that there are enough of those like-minded athletes across the nation to build one of the consensus best teams in college basketball, all of whom are in full pursuit of a new blue banner in the rafters of Rupp.

With a mindset like that shared across the board and talent like the 2025-26 team has at hand, it’s only a matter of time before that dream becomes a reality once more. For the first time in more than a decade, the entire Big Blue Nation is on the same page – and that includes the guys who can actually make it happen.

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Men's Basketball

Koby Brea Talks With Andrija Jelavic About His Legendary Chapter Awaiting At Kentucky

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ABA League (Left) | Imagn (Right)


Andrija Jelavic, in a recent Q&A with Kentucky Insider, revealed that he exchanged messages with former Wildcat Koby Brea, who will be handing down his No. 4 jersey to Jelavic.

The big man was asked if he had spoken with any former Wildcats after comparing his play style to Karl-Anthony Towns, and what he knew about Kentucky growing up.

“I exchanged some messages with Koby Brea because I’m gonna be wearing his number four,” Jelavic said. “About Kentucky, I always knew that they are the biggest franchise in college basketball history, and just everything about them is legendary.”

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Jelavic added on what exactly Brea said in those messages.

“He just told me to go be great and that he can’t wait to see me play,” Jelavic said. “Also, that he likes my number decision.”

Alone, the fact that Brea reached out speaks volume to the culture that is established at Kentucky. The lethal sharpshooter from Mark Pope’s first team at Kentucky played only one season in the blue and white, yet, seems interested in the future of the program despite chasing his own big league dreams.

To end our exclusive interview, Jelavic talked about the goals he has now as a Wildcat and how he wants to be a legendary piece to this year’s roster.

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“Definitely to bring many wins and hopefully a championship to Kentucky, Jelavic said. “To be a player that Kentucky will always remember.”

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