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A Weekend of Ups and Downs for Kentucky Sports

Published

2 weeks ago

November 25, 2025

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

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.

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.”

Mark Pope on seeing some vintage Otega Oweh tonight.

"He took it personally… In the second half, we saw a couple of possessions of Otega Oweh defense, where we haven't seen the passion and commitment. I felt like, "Welcome back, my friend"… That guy is our guy." pic.twitter.com/dox5ufR0H5— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) November 22, 2025

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

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.

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.

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.

MOOD! pic.twitter.com/F9Affe592k— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) November 22, 2025

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.

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.

Other Sports

Top-seeded Kentucky Cruises Through Wofford & No. 8 UCLA for Sweet 16 Appearance

Published

5 days ago

December 6, 2025

Kelly Doherty

Kentucky's Asia Thigpen adding their name to the Sweet 16. Photo by Marissa Gilchrist of UK Athletics.

Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

This past weekend, Kentucky’s volleyball team extended its win streak to 24 straight after a quick sweep against the Wofford Terriers (17-14) and a tough 3-1 battle vs the No. 8 UCLA Bruins (19-13) to punch a ticket to a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance.

First Round: Wofford
Kentucky’s biggest strength on the court throughout its dominant two-loss season has always been their suffocating offensive prowess, but it was the defense that would end up giving Wofford no chance of survival, emphasized by a rally era record in digs (in a three-set match) with 66.

It took a while to get Big Blue going on the offense, but 14 kills from Wildcats star Brooklyn DeLeye would keep the ball rolling and lead the sweep that volleyball fans expected from the second-ranked team in the bracket (only behind undefeated Nebraska).

Second Round: No. 8 UCLA

It’s truly impressive that Kentucky won this match 3-1. The No. 8 seeded Bruins kept the Cats on their claws throughout the whole game, including Kentucky’s two longest sets of the season, the second of which would lead to UCLA’s lone set point.

Despite the gutsier match of Kentucky’s two so far, Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner kept high praise for his team’s persistent focus and effort in the post presser.

“(UCLA’s) high end is pretty ridiculous,” said Skinner. “For us to weather the storms in the first set and pull that out and then add pressure after losing the third set, a tight one, I give (Eva Hudson & Brooklyn DeLeye) a lot of credit for carrying the offensive load and bailing us out of some situations, which was huge.”

Coming Up

Kentucky will play in the third round of the NCAA Volleyball tournament against Cal Poly, a team that upset No. 5 BYU in the first round and regional host No. 4 USC in the second round. The day and time have yet to be released.

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No. 17 Kentucky Represents in the ACC/SEC Challenge, Dominates Miami

Published

1 week ago

December 4, 2025

AJ Nava

Morgan Simmons | UK Athletics

No. 17 Kentucky women’s basketball (9-1) traveled to Florida and beat the Miami Hurricanes (5-3) 64-48 on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Entering the game, the Wildcats and the Hurricanes were both 1-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but in the third annual challenge, the Cats got the last laugh.

Monster Third Quarter

It was a three-point game at the end of the first half, however, an explosion of offense during the third quarter created a large gap in the score that wouldn’t get close again.

The Wildcats outscored Miami 24-15 in the third and it was Tonie Morgan leading the way offensively.

Morgan scored more points in the third quarter (9) than she scored in the whole first half (7), finishing with 20 points and four assists in the win.

The Cats also got it done defensively, finishing with nine steals and four blocks as a team while also scoring 25 points off of Hurricane turnovers.

Kentucky has yet to lose a game when leading at halftime and improve to a 9-1 record with the win.

Up next for the Wildcats is a home game versus Central Michigan (5-3) on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

Other Sports

Kentucky Volleyball Earns No. 1 Seed in NCAA Tournament

Published

2 weeks ago

December 1, 2025

AJ Nava

Eddie Justice | UK Athletics

Kentucky volleyball (25-2, 15-0 SEC), who just won a ninth straight SEC championship, have officially been awarded a No. 1 seed (No. 2 overall) in the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championship.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, the NCAA announced that Kentucky would be the No. 1 overall seed in the Lexington Regional. The squad went a perfect 15-0 in conference play this season and earned an automatic NCAA qualifying spot after winning the SEC Tournament Championship last weekend.

Kentucky is joined by Nebraska, Texas and Pittsburgh, as the top four seeds in the tournament, meaning the four teams can host all the way up to the Final Four if they make it that far.

The Final Four games and championship games will take place in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Wildcats enter the NCAA tournament on a 22-game win streak, with their last loss taking place all the way back in September versus what was then No. 7 Pittsburgh.

The opening match in Lexington will be No. 8 UCLA (18-12) vs. Georgia Tech (16-13) in Historic Memorial Coliseum on Thursday Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

After the opening match, Kentucky will play Wofford (17-13) the same day at 7:00 p.m. ET. All first and second round games will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

All-session tickets will go on sale to the general public through UKathletics.com and the UK Ticket Office on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Single-session tickets will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.