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Men's Basketball

No. 9 Kentucky Falls to No. 12 Louisville in Dramatic, High-Scoring Duel on the Road

In what will always be the most painful loss of the season, Kentucky fell short against their in-state rivals in an early-season brawl.

Published

7 months ago

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Kentucky forward Mouhamed Dioubate
Tristan Pharis | KY Insider

In an unusually early meeting with their vitriolic rivals, the still somewhat battered No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats took on the No. 12 Louisville Cardinals away from home for the first time in the Mark Pope era. The result, in front of an all-time energetic crowd at the YUM Center, went south in grueling fashion.

Too Little Too Early

After jumping out to a 22-21 lead on the heels of a string of impressive plays from the recently recovered Jaland Lowe, Kentucky failed to take a lead even once more throughout the rest of the contest.

Louisville, who as a team ended up making 13 triples on 40 attempts (more than half their shots), quickly mounted a double-digit lead that dominated the majority of the game from that point on. Led by a 29-point performance from freshman Mikel Brown Jr., the Cardinals outpaced the Cats on their home floor.

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Denzel Abderdeen led Kentucky’s scoring effort with a similarly impressive 26, even given the team’s overarching shortcoming.

Being down by 18 in the first half and, at one point, 20 in the second, the blue and white failed to find any significant momentum until the final few minutes and, even then, couldn’t piece together big plays when it mattered.

Bad Math

Having at one point pulled within four – 88-84 – Jaland Lowe brought the ball down the floor and, within moments of crossing Louisville’s logo, took a contested three-pointer with more than 20 seconds remaining on the shot clock. With no attempt to move the ball or run a play, Kentucky’s possession was doomed from the start.

The Cardinals kept their visitors at arm’s-length from there, though it wasn’t that singular play that lost Kentucky the game. As has often been a problem under Coach Pope, the team’s assist-to-turnover ratio came out to an abysmal 14 to 14 tie.

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Louisville’s? 20 to 6.

Telling the Story

Of that specifically dire metric, Pope said “The assist-turnover ratio tells the story,” after the game. “We’re going to lose a 14-14/20-6 game,” he continued. “We’re just going to lose it.”

Now 2-1 given the loss, Kentucky floats just above .500, taking a gut punch at an especially sudden juncture in their very young season. Even without Jayden Quaintance, likely to start in the front court, the Wildcats can never fully come to terms with a loss to the team down the road.

As Pope also put it after the game, “That’s not the standard for us at Kentucky.”

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He and the team’s next chance to fulfill that standard comes on Friday, back at Rupp Arena, against Eastern Illinois. That (hopeful) pitstop is the only battle between their defeat at hand and Champions Classic date with the No. 17 Michigan State Spartans.

It’s do or die for a Cats team trying to stay afloat before their conference schedule kicks in; though it’s far from the time to hit the panic button on the year, an early loss in such a fashion at this one is bound to raise a few question marks going forward.

The real truth about this team will found not in the adversity itself, but in how they respond to it.

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Men's Basketball

Star Forward Milan Momcilovic Chooses Kentucky Over Louisville and Arizona

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1 day ago

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June 1, 2026

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Photo via AOL

The wait is over BBN!

Milan Momcilovic has officially announced that he will be playing his senior year of college basketball at Kentucky, suiting up in the blue and white for Mark Pope and the Wildcats!

The 6-foot-8 wing averaged 16.9 points per game in the 2025-26 season, leading the nation in 3-pointers made (136) and percentage from deep (48.7%).

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Momcilovic is mostly ranked as No. 2 in most portal rankings, but ESPN has the former Cyclone as the No. 1 overall player. With that being said, this technically serves as Pope’s first No. 1 transfer during his tenure at Kentucky.

Pulling his name out of the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27, Kentucky was seemingly the favorite to land the wing during the entire sweepstakes due to positional need, scheme fit and money available to spend. He could even play another year with the Kentucky Wildcats if the “5-in-5” rule is passed and he forgoes the draft again.

Putting Pat Kelsey in a locker and outbidding him on a recruit is always great for morale, but this fills the much-needed star spot for next year’s roster. Pope and his staff have shaped the team with plenty of skilled players, but Momcilovic adds that extra layer of shooting and will serve as the go-to guy when a game may be on the line.

This will be the final player added to the 2026-27 team, with an insert at the starting small forward position in Momcilovic’s future. Pope and the Big Blue Nation have their guy, and soon enough, we’ll see the Pewaukee, Wisconsin native on Rupp Arena’s court.

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Men's Basketball

National Reporter Matt Norlander Chooses Kentucky as Landing Spot for Star Forward Milan Momcilovic

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6 days ago

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May 28, 2026

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Photo via Imagn Images

The Milan Momcilovic sweepstakes is underway, with multiple teams involved in the No. 2 overall transfer player’s recruitment. It is believed that Kentucky and Louisville are the top candidates after his decision to pull out from the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27.

Along with the in-state rivals, Arizona and St. John’s are both very well still in the mix, but the Red Storm are slowly falling out of contention after landing Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou.

On May 28, national reporter Matt Norlander cleared the air on CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball podcast, stating that he believes Kentucky will land Momcilovic by the end of the weekend or Monday.

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“My prediction right now is that Milan Momcilovic will go to Kentucky,” Norlander said. “My understanding is that decision is going to come in the next one, two, three days, four days max.”

He would go on to talk about the other top programs involved, stating why he thinks they will be working in an uphill battle in this bidding war.

“My forecast is that it’s Kentucky, but you know, we’ll see if Louisville can get in there,” he continued. “Arizona I don’t think has the money to contend, like I think Kentucky and Louisville just have more money to play with.”

For the worried members of the Big Blue Nation, this is certainly good news to be put out by one of the most trusted college basketball reporters at the national level.

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Going by this report and Adam Zagoria’s from NYT Sports, it shouldn’t be long until a commitment decision for Momcilovic is announced publicly.

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Men's Basketball

BREAKING: No. 2 Ranked Transfer Milan Momcilovic Removes Name From 2026 NBA Draft

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6 days ago

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May 27, 2026

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Kamil Krzaczynski | Imagn Images

Milan Momcilovic has officially removed his named from the 2026 NBA Draft and will return to college for his senior season.

Kentucky leads in his recruitment, followed closely by St. John’s, Louisville and Arizona. A backdoor to Iowa State is also still open.

The No. 2 ranked transfer would be a huge addition to Kentucky’s 2026-27 roster if he committed, averaging 16.9 points per game on 50.6/48.7/87.8 shooting splits last year. Funny enough, in the current world of college athletics that we live in, Momcilovic was responsible for eliminating the Wildcats from the NCAA Tournament, dropping 20 points in the Round of 32.

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He would go on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 with Iowa State, so at least we know that there’s some inner-hatred for a long-standing rival if he ends up a Wildcat.

He made the most three-point shots in Division I basketball and is a versatile 6-foot-8 wing, which would fit perfectly into Mark Pope’s offensive system. He completed workouts with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves during the draft process.

Now, the bidding war for the top dog begins, with some of the most prestigious programs in the sport placing their bets on the star forward.

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