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Men's Basketball

Looking Back at Kentucky’s Champions Classic Performances

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Folks, it’s finally here. Opening night in college basketball and the first official game for our University of Kentucky Wildcats. Tonight, they will take on the top-ranked team in the country, the Michigan State Spartans, in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Kansas will take on Duke in the first game at 7 p.m. EST and Kentucky will play Michigan State in the second game at 9:30 p.m. EST

Kentucky has been participating in the Champions Classic since 2011, so let’s take a look at the Wildcats’ previous performances.

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2011: #2 Kentucky 75 – #12 Kansas 65

Little did we know this was just a preview for that years National Championship game, which Kentucky took home.

The leading scorer that night was Doron Lamb with 17 points including three three-pointers. The National Player of the Year, Anthony Davis, 14 points, six rebounds, and SEVEN blocks.

2012: #3 Kentucky 68 – #9 Duke 75

This might be the best game Alex Poythress ever played at Kentucky considering he was projected to be the number one pick in mock drafts days after.

Poythress recorded 20 points with eight rebounds. And, Nerlens Noel had 16 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three blocks.

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2013: #1 Kentucky 74 – #2 Michigan State 78

This game is basically a reverse of what we’ll see tomorrow night in terms of rankings, but this game ended the 40-0 talk quickly and showed us that one of the best recruiting classes ever, wasn’t quite worth all the hype.

After a terrible start, the Cats fought all the way back to tie the game in the second half, but Michigan State got a tip-in bucket late to seal the game.

James Young had 19 points and four rebounds. And, Julius Randle had 27 points, 13 rebounds, and eight turnovers.

2014: #1 Kentucky 72 – #5 Kansas 40

Crazy to think, but we had no idea as to what was ahead for this season. It ended bad, but got off to one hell of a start.

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“It’s like trying to play frisbee in the Redwood Forest.” – Jay Bilas

Willie Cauley-Stein had seven points and 10 rebounds. And, Karl Anthony Towns had nine points and eight rebounds.

2015: #2 Kentucky 74 – #5 Duke 63

Always a great game when you thump the Blue Devils. Might be one of the best games this team played all year.

Marcus Lee had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jamal Murray had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Tyler Ulis had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals. And, Alex Poythress had nine points and seven rebounds.

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2016: #2 Kentucky 69 – #13 Michigan State 48

This is definitely one of the most impressive opening games in the John Calipari era. I think we were all thinking #9 after this game.

Malik Monk had 23 points and six rebounds, including seven threes. De’Aaron Fox had 12 points, four rebounds, and six assists. And, Isaiah Briscoe had 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

2017: #7 Kentucky 61 – #4 Kansas 65

This game was tight until the very end. A Malik Newman (what happened to him?) three in the final minutes is probably what sealed the game for the Jayhawks. Well, that and the fact Kevin Knox tried a floater over the backboard to tie the game.

Kevin Knox had 20 points and seven rebounds. Hamidou Diallo had 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. And, Sacha Killeya-Jones had eight points and nine rebounds.

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2018: #4 Duke 118 – #2 Kentucky 84

How about we pretend like this game never happened?

Men's Basketball

Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno Earn Conference Preseason Honors

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Photo via Chet White | UK Athletics

On Monday, Oct. 12, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno both earned All-SEC preseason honors, with the Iowa State transfer selected to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team and the returning sophomore selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team.

Momcilovic is entering his senior season with the Wildcats, looking to follow up his junior campaign after reigning as the undisputed best shooter in college basketball. He averaged 16.9 points per game last year, with his shooting splits reading 50.6/48.7/87.8.

Leading the Cyclones to a No. 2 seed and being selected to All-Big 12 Second Team, it’s safe to say that this isn’t the first time that Momcilovic has been left off of the top list, making the Kentucky superstar hungry to prove the haters wrong on a much larger stage.

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Moreno is returning for his sophomore season after earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors last year, looking to show the Big Blue Nation everything he learned throughout the draft process and that he has changed this summer.

The Kentucky native was thrown into the fire, earning 30 unexpected starts for the Wildcats. He developed as the season went on, ending the 2025-26 campaign averaging 7.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.

With both Momcilovic and Moreno as staple players on this year’s roster, the SEC has slated Mark Pope’s team to finish seventh in the conference this season, finishing behind Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt.

The full lists of the All-SEC Teams can be found below:

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First Team

  • Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  • Juke Harris (Tennessee)
  • Thomas Haugh (Florida)
  • Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)
  • Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)

Second Team

  • Amari Allen (Alabama)
  • Alex Condon (Florida)
  • Milan Momcilovic (Kentucky)
  • Jordan Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
  • Matas Vokietaitis (Texas)

Third Team

  • PJ Haggerty (Texas A&M)
  • Malachi Moreno (Kentucky)
  • Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)
  • David Punch (Texas)
  • Billy Richmond III (Arkansas)

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Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Shows Flashes in First NBA Preseason Appearances

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Photo via Getty Images

Former Kentucky standout Otega Oweh took another step in his basketball career on Tuesday night, making his NBA preseason debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder and taking on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Oweh came off of the bench and played 28 minutes, finishing with six points, six rebounds, two steals, one block and an assist. The former Wildcat struggled offensively, shooting only 3-of-9 from the field and missing all four of his free throw attempts.

Despite the shooting struggles, Oweh showed flashes of his defensive ability and physicality that made him a fan favorite during his two seasons in Lexington.

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The Pelicans escaped with a 116-110 win, leaving the Thunder with a 0-1 record. The next night wouldn’t draw a different result, with Oweh’s team losing by two and only playing the beloved superstar a total of 16 minutes.

Due to foul trouble, this would be the only minutes he would receive, ending the game with two points on three shots.

Oweh was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Thunder after averaging 18.6 points per game during his senior season at Kentucky, joining former Wildcats Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Although his preseason debut wasn’t the offensive performance he might have hoped for, Oweh will have more than enough opportunities to prove himself as he looks to earn a role in a professional rotation.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Competes at Annual Pro Day Inside of Rupp Arena

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Photo via Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

Kentucky held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, where NBA scouts were able to watch the team go through individual drills and a live game-like scrimmage. There are plenty of takeaways that stood out during the two hour practice. Let’s dive into it:

1.) Franck Kepnang Shows Off in the Paint

The first thing that stood out was transfer big man Franck Kepnang, with the seven-foot big from Washington dominating in the paint. Starting with the individual drills, he showed his size and ability to get downhill off of a pick-and-roll.

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The bigs went through a finishing through contact drill, and the new Wildcat seemed unfazed by the pads being pounded against him. With Moreno and Kepnang running the paint together, it will make it very difficult for opposing teams to stop both of them.

2.) Ousmane N’Diaye Has High-Scoring Performance

Overseas big Ousmane N’Diaye was another standout in front of the NBA scouts. In the first six-minute “quarter”, N’Diaye led all scorers with eight points.

He showed off his ability to score at all three levels, hitting multiple threes and also demonstrating his ability to score in the paint. N’Diaye wasn’t playing the five spot, which really allowed his team to stretch the floor and help with spacing.

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With Moreno, Kepnang, N’Diaye and Reece Potter all standing at seven-feet tall, Mark Pope has the opportunity to run a four-big lineup all while each player hones a different skillset. Having this much size will pay dividends come time for conference play.

3. The Forwards Do a Little Bit of Everything

A few other players who performed well were Milan Momcilovic and Braydon Hawthorne. Momcilovic played very unselfish during the inter-squad scrimmage, looking to first get his teammates involved and not forcing his game whatsoever.

He did hit a nice step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second “quarter”, highlighting his 10-point performance. Hawthorne had some great looks from beyond the arc and did a phenomenal job getting his teammates open, driving and distributing the rock.

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He finished with six points and one assist.

Overall, the whole team appeared molded together and played as a unit rather than just isolation ball, which is a great sign in early October. There is no shortage of individual talent on this roster, and that was evident on Tuesday, with leaders and experience at every position.

The wait is almost over BBN. Kentucky will take the court in its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 16, when Little Rock comes into town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.

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