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KY Insider Preview: Kentucky vs. Missouri

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Coming off a monster statement win against Tennessee, the Cats head to Columbus, MO to face the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri is currently sitting in 12th place in the SEC with a 12-12 record including a 3-9 record in the SEC. Before the season began, Missouri lost their star player and projected first-round draft pick, Jontay Porter to a torn ACL.

The Tigers are a far inferior opponent, but Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin comes prepared when playing the Cats, with a 2-2 record. Let’s take a look at the keys to the game.

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Keys to the Game

1.Show Up

As I stated, the Tigers are a far inferior opponent but the Cats need to come prepared after a huge win. As the 153rd most offensively efficient team in the NCAA, Missouri only averages 68.0 points per game and have only reached 80 twice this season. With the #7 defense coming to town, don’t anticipate for Missouri to reach their season average.

The Tigers are also not so great on the boards, they rank 174th in total rebounds per game. As great as Kentucky crashes the offensive glass, Kentucky should control the boards.

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2. Guard the Three

Missouri doesn’t do a lot of great things on offense but they can shoot the three and could make it a game if they catch fire from deep. The Tigers are currently shooting 37% from three and that is the source of 37.5% of their points.

The perimeter scoring for the Tigers will come mostly from Mark Smith (47.1%) and Jordan Geist (36.1%), both of which have over 100 attempts from deep so far this year.

3. Keep feeding PJ Washington

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PJ Washington has been playing like the SEC player of the year and his play the last 8 games has firmly placed him firmly in that conversation. PJ might be the most improved player in all of college basketball and should break the stigma that if a player at Kentucky doesn’t enter the draft as a freshman, they are a failure.

PJ is currently averaging 14.8 points and 8 rebounds on the season, but what is more amazing is his team-best 43.4% 3P which is second in the SEC. In fact, Washington is 7th all-time in Kentucky basketball history in three-point percentage (min. 50 shots).

Players to Watch

1.Jordan Geist

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Geist is the Tiger’s primary scoring option and is coming off a 23 point performance against Mississippi with an efficient 56.3% FG. Geist has scored 17 or more points in nine games this season. Ashton Hagans will most likely cover him and with his defensive ability should slow him down.

2. Javon Pickett

The freshman guard has attempted the second most shots on this team behind Jordan Geist, with 41% of those attempts coming from deep. He doesn’t shoot a great percentage (39.8 %) from the field, but is capable of getting hot and dropping 20+ points.

3. Mark Smith

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Smith attempts 5.8 three-point shots per game and for good reason, as he is shooting an SEC-best 47.1% from three. However, Smith is coming off a 6 game absence after an ankle injury and only recorded 3 points in 14 minutes against Ole Miss on Saturday.


Prediction

The ESPN basketball power index gives Kentucky an 87.3% chance to take care of business against the Tigers. Missouri only has one win over a KenPom top-50 team and is coming off a 75-65 loss to Mississippi in which they matched a season-worst, 25 turnovers. As long as the Cats come mentally prepared and take care of the ball, the Cats should have a pretty easy night.

Kentucky-76 Missouri-59

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Transfer Jaland Lowe Withdraws From 2025 NBA Draft

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Jaland Lowe
UK Athletics

Jaland Lowe, the presumed starting point guard for Mark Pope’s 2025-26 squad, has officially withdrawn his name from the 2025 NBA Draft and will suit up for the Wildcats in his junior season.

Lowe announced his decision on social media on Thursday, May 22, stating that he “Can’t miss this opportunity” to continue the legacy of great Kentucky guards.

The former Pittsburgh Panther is coming off of a dominant sophomore season, averaging 16.8 points per game to go along with 5.5 assists per game. He took on the load of Pittsburgh’s offense, resulting in low shooting percentages from both the field and from deep.

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However, Mark Pope, in a recent interview with KSR, stated he wants to make things easier for Lowe.

“Jaland Lowe was elite level, in terms of the raw stats, points, assists, everything else he did in the game was really good, but he wasn’t a super efficient player last year,” Pope said. “Not dissimilar in some ways from Lamont Butler…with a little bit of study, and a little bit of humility and curiosity, we can transform your efficiency like crazy.”

Lowe can do a little bit of everything on the court, and adds another layer of balance and depth to a deep Kentucky squad. He’s athletic, can play defense, and as promised by Pope, will be way more efficient on the offensive side of the ball.

Now that things are officially official, Lowe will look to capitalize on having less pressure on his shoulders at Kentucky and lead the team to that desperate No. 9 championship.

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Making History: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Named NBA’s 2024-2025 MVP

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Former Wildcat and current Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the first Kentucky player to win the NBA's MVP award.
Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai GilgeousAlexander becomes the first former Wildcat to win the NBA’s MVP award.

After leading his team to a league-best 68-14 record, clinching the number one seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season. GilgeousAlexander led the NBA with 32.7 points per game. 

A proven three-level scorer, the recently crowned MVP had the most 20-, 30-, 40- and 50-point games this season. On an efficient 51.9% from the field.

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The last MVP-winning guard to shoot above 50% in a season was unanimous victor Stephen Curry in the 2015-2016 season.

GilgeousAlexander is known for being able to score from anywhere on the floor. In addition to having a knack for drawing fouls, he led the NBA with 7.9 free-throw attempts per game. 

His tendency to draw fouls has been a topic of debate amongst fans. However, it’s undeniable that GilgeousAlexander is one of the best from the line, shooting at a near 90% clip in the regular season.

Defensively, the Thunder guard was a standout, averaging a block, one of five guards to do so, and 1.7 steals per game.

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GilgeousAlexander beat out Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

In recent years, the MVP battle has favored big men, as the former Wildcat becomes the first guard to win MVP since former Houston Rocket James Harden accomplished the feat in the 2017-18 season.

Jokic has been on a historic run by winning three of the last four MVP awards. In 2024, Jokic edged out GilgeousAlexander, who finished in second place last year. 

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020.

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Joining a class of his own, GilgeousAlexander is the first of 137 NBA-bound former Kentucky players to win the NBA’s MVP award. His journey to the top is a unique one.

Hailing from Ontario, Canada, GilgeousAlexander chose to play for the 2016 Canadian national team rather than taking the traditional AAU circuit. This meant he would be missing the Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas circuits, where athletes often show off their skills for scouts.

Nevertheless, GilgeousAlexander was named a consensus four-star prospect.

Originally, GilgeousAlexander committed to the University of Florida as a senior in high school. Ultimately, the coveted prospect reopened his recruitment process and later opted for Kentucky over Florida, Syracuse, UNLV, NC State, Texas and Kansas.

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Joining a stacked 2017 recruiting class curated by head coach John Calipari that featured future NBA players Jarred Vanderbilt, Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Kevin Knox and PJ Washington.

In his lone season in Lexington, GilgeousAlexander led Kentucky in scoring with 21 points per game on 55.3% shooting from the field to pair with 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The Wildcats went 26-11 in the regular season. 

GilgeousAlexander and the Cats trekked through the SEC Tournament, beating Georgia and Alabama handily in the opening rounds. The Wildcats went on to beat their border state rival, Tennessee, in the SEC Championship game; GilgeousAlexander went off for a collegiate career-high 29 points in the 77-72 victory. 

It stands today as Kentucky’s most recent SEC Championship. 

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Unfortunately for the Wildcats, their season would come to an end in the Sweet Sixteen. Kentucky lost narrowly, 61-58, against the Wildcats of Kansas State. 

Despite Kentucky’s shortcomings, it was a successful individual season for GilgeousAlexander, as he was named to the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. 

The Canadian native declared for the 2018 NBA Draft after a promising second half of the season. 

GilgeousAlexander was drafted No. 11 by the Charlotte Hornets but was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a pick swap. Charlotte received the No. 12 selection, which became Miles Bridges from Michigan State, and two future second-round picks. 

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According to Bleacher Report, the freshly drafted prospect was comparable to the likes of NBA veterans Shaun Livingston and Alfred Payton due to his 6-foot-6 frame and almost 7-foot wingspan. 

In the eyes of scouts, he lacked a quick twitch and a reliable jump shot despite being a lottery pick.

GilgeousAlexander spent his rookie season in Los Angeles, starting 73 games for the Clippers while averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. The Clippers guard finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

Los Angeles snuck into the playoffs as an No. 8 seed to face off against the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors. The Clippers lost in a competitive six-game series.

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On July 10, 2019, GilgeousAlexander was traded for the second time in his career. In blockbuster fashion, Oklahoma City traded star Paul George to the Clippers in exchange for Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks and the rights to swap two other first-round picks. 

Since arriving in Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander’s career has blossomed.

Over the previous three seasons, the Thunder have steadily improved in parallel to Gilgeous-Alexander as a player. For the third straight season, the Thunder superstar has been named an All-Star and finished top-5 in MVP voting.

Additionally, this will be Gilgeous-Alexander’s third straight All-NBA First Team nod.

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Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the third Thunder player to win MVP in franchise history, following in the footsteps of Oklahoma City legends and future Hall of Famers Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. 

Currently, the Thunder are in pursuit of an NBA Championship led by Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Oklahoma City beat the Memphis Grizzlies in a 4-0 sweep in round one. The Thunder beat the Jokic-led Denver Nuggets in the second round in seven games to punch a ticket to the Western Conference Finals.

This week, Oklahoma City faces off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Thus far, Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder hold a 1-0 lead in the series.

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The winner will place a bid in the 2025 NBA Finals.

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Men's Basketball

Four Star Freshman Forward Commits to Kentucky

Boom! Mark Pope lands his latest in a long line of impressive commitments ahead of the 2025-26 basketball season.

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Braydon Hawthorne commits to Kentucky.
UK Athletics

Another domino falls for Kentucky’s 2025-26′ roster, this time in the form of four star freshman guard Braydon Hawthorne’s commitment.

Hawthorne, a former WVU commit before the program’s coaching change, has slowly but surely risen on recruiting ranks nationwide, going from completely unranked to in the Top 100 across the board. On3 ranks him as the 48th-best of class recruit for 2025.

He chose Kentucky over a multitude of schools, from mid-majors to power four programs, with West Virginia appearing to have been the opposite frontrunner. Hawthorne’s commitment comes shortly after his official visit to Kentucky on Thursday, April 17, as well as after a trip to Virginia Tech, which took place the following day.

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The 6’8″, 175 small forward will bring versatile wing play to a Kentucky team that has already loaded up on athleticism and size. His 7-foot-3 wingspan alone is enough to raise eyebrows, but beyond the numbers, Hawthorne is a pure scorer with an invisible ceiling.

Heading into Lexington as a true freshman, too, the Big Blue Nation might get used to seeing him around for a while. While the Mark Pope era thus far has been predominately focused on veteran talent, it’s important going forward to sprinkle in some future-proofing players too, and Hawthorne fits that bill and then some.

BBN can show their support to the newest Wildcat on X (@BraydonH20) and Instragram (@braydonhawthorne). With yet another highly-ranked recruit down, Pope has put together one of the most dangerous rosters in the country. Fall can’t come soon enough.

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