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Men's Basketball

The Morning After: Kentucky vs. Houston

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Take a deep breath and check your heart rate.

Tyler Herro and PJ Washington entered Kentucky folklore as the Wildcats survived and advanced with a 62-58 victory over the Houston Cougars.

While the win wasn’t pretty, a win is a win. However, there are plenty of things to look at and learn from as we look forward to Sunday’s game against Auburn.

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Tyler Herro THE Hero

After Herro only scored 9 points on 2-11 shooting, it was a good sight to see Tyler “Bucket” Herro back in full swing as he scored 19 on 7-13 shooting. Including the three to give Kentucky the lead with 25.8 seconds left.

After missing a free throw earlier in the half, Mr. Clutch went on to sink two free throws to give Kentucky a comfortable four-point lead with 15 seconds to go.

Herro took Kentucky fans back to Aaron Harrison’s 2014 run with that shot and with that shot, he will always be remembered.

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PJ Washington, We Don’t Win Without Him

Before the game, there was still speculation on whether PJ Washington would play or not. On Friday, he was back in full form, and that foot didn’t look to bother him one bit.

In two games without PJ, Kentucky definitely missed his offense. In his return, PJ played one of his most efficient games of the year. Coming off the bench and in 26 minutes, PJ recorded 16 points (6-8), 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.

After the game, Calipari noted that PJ didn’t participate in pregame shootaround due to pain and was unsure if he was going to play. PJ wanted to play, played through the pain, and got two of the most critical plays of the game with the and-one and the block leading to Herro three.

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In Calipari’s postgame words, “we don’t win without him [PJ]”.

Great Defense

In three NCAA tournament games, the Wildcats have yet to give up more than sixty points or let a team shoot over 40% FG from the field.

After limiting Flethcer “Oofer” Magee to 0-12 on three point shooting last weekend, the focus shifted to Houston’s Corey Davis Jr. on Friday night.

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Davis came into the game averaging 23.5 points and five made three-pointers in two NCAA Tournament games. Tyler Herro had another great defensive performance limiting Davis Jr. to just 14 points (5-16) and 1-7 from three.

On Sunday, the Cats will face off against the Auburn Tigers for the third time this season and will have to limit their guards, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown who have both played great since SEC play.

Rebounding Battle

Coming into the game, Houston was top-10 in every rebounding category and many had anticipated the Cougars to put up a fight on the boards, but that just wasn’t the case.

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On Thursday, Houston’s Chris Harris, told Kyle Tucker of The Athletic:

“I believe that will be the game. Whoever wins the rebounding battle, that will be the game.”

In the end, it wasn’t too much of a battle and Harris’ comments rang true. Kentucky’s size was too much to handle for the Cougars as the Wildcats outrebounded Houston by 13 (36-23) and escaped with the win.

Offensive Struggles

Kentucky has played one and a half games of good offense in three tournament games and that needs to change in a hurry.

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After putting up 37 points in the first half, Kentucky only scored 12 points in just under 17 minutes which allowed Houston to regain the lead down the stretch. Kentucky went on to score 13 points in the final three minutes to win the game.

Simply. that just can’t happen again if the Cats want to win a national title.

On Sunday, the Cats will take on the Auburn Tigers for the third time this season and are playing their best basketball of the season. Auburn is a great offensive team, as they are ranked 6th in offensive efficiency and has scored 78 or more points in all three of their NCAA Tournament games.

Auburn truly lives and dies by the three. As we have seen in Kentucky’s two games against Auburn this year, they can lose by thirty or win the game, there’s no in between. Kentucky has to be ready for their best shot.

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Survive and advance. The Cats are one step closer to Minneapolis.

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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