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A Weekend of Ups and Downs for Kentucky Sports

Published

6 months ago

on

UK Athletics | KY Insider

Over the weekend, multiple Kentucky teams were on the road looking to pull off major wins, while the others stayed home to protect precious Lexington.

From Georgia to Tennessee, heading back home to the little sister’s arena, this recap will detail out everything you may have missed in the past couple of days.

Men’s Basketball

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Starting things off, No. 12 Kentucky men’s basketball (4-2) hosted Loyola (MD) (2-5) and responded after a week of criticism and uncertainty with a 42-point win.

In the 88-46 victory, two Wildcats got their first start of their collegiate careers – Malachi Moreno and Kam Williams. Both would be very vital pieces to the dub, with Moreno nearly dropping a double-double (10 points, eight rebounds) to go along with four blocks.

Williams easily had his best game of his career in the blue and white, dropping 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The remaining starters all dropped double-digit points, with Collin Chandler leading the way with 13 points. Bench wise, Andrija Jelavić and Jasper Johnson scored nine points each, with Brandon Garrison and Trent Noah showing off on the rebounding front.

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Although it wasn’t necessarily too evident from the box score, superstar Otega Oweh came out of his shell per se, and played with much more intensity and heart.

After the game, Mark Pope offered some kind words towards the preseason SEC Player of the Year. “He took it personally,” said Pope. “In the second half, we saw a couple of possessions of his (Oweh) defense where we saw the passion and commitment.”

Up next, Kentucky, now dropping to No. 19 in the AP Poll, will take on Tennessee Tech (3-3) on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The tip is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Football

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On the other side of the most popular team on campus, Kentucky football (5-6) went on the road to face No. 14 Vanderbilt (9-2), ultimately getting blown out by a score of 45-17.

Diego Pavia, making waves in the Heisman race and playing his final game for the Commodores, threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for 48 yards and another touchdown. Reading that sentence alone should demonstrate how the game went, and indeed, it was pure domination.

The Wildcats, usually reliant on their run game, only had 31 total yards from the backfield and couldn’t get any offense going until the final quarter.

Kentucky now looks forward to its final game of the season, facing off in the Battle of the Bluegrass against the Louisville Cardinals (7-4) on Saturday, Nov. 29. With bowl implications and a potential job on the line, this noon kickoff serves as one of the most important “must-win games” in years for the declining program.

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Women’s Basketball

Heading back to the court, No. 20 Kentucky women’s basketball (7-0) took down the No. 21 Louisville Cardinals (4-2) by a score of 72-62 inside the KFC Yum! Center.

Tonie Morgan led the way with 19 points and seven assists, while both Teonni Key and Clara Strack tallied 17 points. Strack also snagged 10 rebounds, leading to her sixth double-double of the season and a SEC Player of the Week nod.

This was Kenny Brooks’ second win against the Cardinals during his tenure as the Cats’ coach, helping Kentucky secure back-to-back wins against Louisville for the first time since 2014 and 2015.

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The postgame antics would make any Wildcat fan happy, as Brooks and the entire team doused each other in water and celebrated in the visiting locker room.

Kentucky will continue its road stretch until Dec. 7, featuring a top-10 ranked matchup with No. 7 Maryland (7-0) in the Puerto Rico Shootout on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Volleyball

Remaining as the most dominant team on campus, the No. 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (24-2, 15-0 SEC) looked to continue an impressive 21-game win streak in the SEC Tournament.

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Earning a double bye in the bracket, the Wildcats rolled their way through the early competition, defeating No. 8 Auburn 3-0 and No. 4 Tennessee 3-1 the next day.

Now, only one more team stands in the way – the No. 3 Texas Longhorns. Earlier in the season, Kentucky knocked off the Longhorns 3-0 at their place and treated them like any other team.

The championship bout is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 25 and will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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Kentucky Baseball Selected to Fourth Consecutive NCAA Tournament

Published

1 week ago

on

May 25, 2026

By

Sydney Yonker | UK Athletics

In the final bracket reveal on the ESPN selection show, Kentucky baseball was named as the No. 3 seed in the Morgantown Regional. This is the fourth year in a row that the Bat Cats have been selected to the NCAA tournament, extending the school record.

West Virginia is the No. 16 overall seed in the tournament and the one-seeded host of the regional. Also in the bracket is No. 2 Wake Forest, Kentucky’s first-round opponent, and No. 4 Binghamton.

On Friday, May 29, Kentucky (31-21, 13-17 SEC) will take on Wake Forest (38-19, 16-14 ACC) at 12:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on ESPN2.

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The similarities that led both teams to the tournament will likely lead to an entertaining first game of the double-elimination format. Both schools went one and done in their respective conference tournaments, as well as facing multiple ranked opponents during the season.

The difference in the schools’ season is Wake Forest was swept twice while Kentucky avoided being swept all season, but on the flip side, the Cats lost all but two of its conference series while the Demon Deacons only lost four.

A schedule only means so much when two teams from different conferences meet. Wake Forest has a high-powered offense, putting up nine games with 14 or more runs and scoring 22 or more runs on two separate occasions.

That can prove problematic for a Kentucky team that has made 55 errors this season. The Demon Deacons lack of depth in the bullpen could benefit the Wildcats. This is an area that Kentucky has had some problems with this season as well, but with 12 of their 22 listed pitchers having a sub 6.00 ERA, they certainly have the edge.

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UK is a team that pressures the infield with stolen bases, which will due part put much pressure on Wake Forest – they’ve made 59 errors on the season.

Overall, getting past round one is just the first step to getting out of Morgantown and driving the rest of the long road to Omaha.

Morgantown Regional (Morgantown, West Virginia)

Friday:

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Game 1: Kentucky vs. Wake Forest; 12:00 p.m ET on ESPN2
Game 2: No. 16 West Virginia vs. Binghampton; 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Saturday:

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Sunday:

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Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5

Monday:

Game 7 (if necessary): Rematch Game 6

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Kentucky Baseball Set to Face Vanderbilt in First Round of the SEC Tournament

Published

2 weeks ago

on

May 17, 2026

By

Eddie Justice | UK Athletics

The bracket is set. Kentucky Baseball, earning the No. 13 overall seed, will face No. 12 Vanderbilt (32-24, 14-16 SEC) in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday, May 19.

Nick Mingione’s squad finished the regular season with a 31-20 overall record and a 13-17 conference record, going 1-2 in the final series against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who ultimately earned the No. 7 overall seed in the tourney.

These two teams clashed back on April 17-19, where Vanderbilt came into Kentucky Proud Park and stole both game two and three from the Wildcats. Kentucky scored a total of 18 runs in the series, but it let up 23 runs of its own.

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In the series-opening win, pitcher Jaxon Jelkin tossed 105 total pitches through eight innings, only allowing two runs and six hits between the 31 batters he faced.

A time is yet to be announced, but it is confirmed that the Bat Cats and the Commodores will play in game two, taking place after game one between No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 16 Missouri at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Kentucky is currently on the “safe” part of the NCAA Tournament bubble, but a win in Hoover, Alabama would have the Wildcats as locks to make yet another appearance in the big dance.

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BREAKING: Former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins second consecutive NBA MVP Award

Published

2 weeks ago

on

May 17, 2026

By

Photo via Imagn Images

History has been made by former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as he becomes the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards. Last season, he became the first Wildcat ever to hoist the trophy, a feat that he still holds with utter dominance.

The Toronto, Canada native averaged 31.1 points per game (second in the league) to go along with 4.3 rebounds per game and 6.6 assists per game. He did this all on 55.3/38.6/87.9 shooting splits and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the league with 64 wins.

How about this for a stat? Gilgeous-Alexander is now just the fifth guard in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards, joining Hall of Fame guards Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash.

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News of the award will officially be announced tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA on Prime, with Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama as the other two finalists.

Gilgeous-Alexander will be back in action on Monday, May 18 to face off against Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, looking to lead his team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.

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