FINAL: No. 12 Kentucky handles Loyola (MD) with ease in 88-46 blowout win

Kentucky needed a blowout win in the worst way after Tuesday’s loss in the Champions Classic, and that’s exactly what they got.

On Friday night in Rupp Arena, the No. 12 Wildcats (4-2) dominated the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds (2-5) from start to finish, cruising to an 88-46 win in a game that was essentially over at the first media timeout. Kentucky played a solid overall game, shooting 48.7 percent from the field as a team and 10-27 from deep. Head coach Mark Pope broke out a new starting lineup, replacing Malachi Moreno with Brandon Garrison as the starting center while bringing in Kam Williams to take over for the injured Mo Dioubate at the 4.

Williams had his best game yet as a Wildcat as a result, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 26 minutes. Moreno made the most of his first start as well, going for 10 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. Collin Chandler‘s 13 points, Denzel Aberdeen‘s 11 points, and Otega Oweh‘s 11 points rounded out UK’s double-digit scorers. All nine of Kentucky’s non-walk-on players scored at least six points. Garrison added six points and 11 boards off the bench.

A blowout win over Loyola won’t do much to change the current perspective of this Kentucky team, but a victory like this one is always good for momentum.

Getting off to hot starts hasn’t been a problem for Kentucky so far this season, and that trend didn’t stop on Friday. It was a 12-3 lead for the Wildcats before four minutes could even run off the clock. Substitutions once again came early and often, but Kentucky kept its foot on the gas. Back-to-back triples from Chandler, followed up by another from Jasper Johnson, made it a 23-8 lead for the ‘Cats before the second media timeout.

Kentucky continued to pour it on from there. Andrija Jelavić found a groove with back-to-back buckets of his own as everyone was getting in on the action. A 12-0 killshot near the end of the half gave UK a commanding 42-18 advantage that would only grow going into the intermission. Williams polished off the half with a banked-in three-pointer right at the buzzer, putting Kentucky in front 50-20 at the break.

The bank is open at the buzzer for @KamWilliams_3.

📺 – SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/uFVAsox0Tr

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 22, 2025

Williams was up to seven points, five rebounds, and three assists after a quick first half of action. We didn’t see a foul from either side until late in the half. As a team, Kentucky was shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 8-14 from deep, fueled by a 3-6 mark by Chandler. UK had 14 assists to just two turnovers in what was a dominant first 20 minutes.

As you might have guessed, there would be no comeback attempt for Loyola as Kentucky continued to build its lead out of the locker room. Every Wildcat (outside the walk-ons) scored at least one bucket in the second half, including a couple of three-pointers from Trent Noah. The Greyhounds even went on a field goal drought of over four minutes, shooting just 29 percent from the field in the second half. UK’s lead grew to as many as 48 points before settling on the 42-point victory.

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