LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Indiana
Kentucky has failed all four of its big tests this season, losing to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. Can the Cats finally get a much-needed win against a Power Four opponent? KSR’s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as Kentucky hosts the Indiana Hoosiers (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tonight’s game marks the start of a four-year series between the two programs, once bitter rivals. Kentucky leads the series 32-25 all-time, 10-3 in Lexington. The last two games have taken place in the NCAA Tournament: a second-round loss to the Hoosiers in 2016 and a Sweet 16 win in 2012 en route to the national championship. The latter avenged the regular-season loss at Assembly Hall, the end of the previous home-and-home series.
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Both teams need a win. You know what’s happening with Kentucky, but Indiana lost both of its games last week, to Minnesota and Louisville. The Hoosiers are 8-2 in Darian DeVries’ first season. They’re led by Lamar Wilkerson (18.8 points per game) and Tucker DeVries (17.2 PPG), the former of whom picked Indiana over Kentucky in the transfer portal. Wilkerson had 44 points, including 10 made three-pointers, in Indiana’s win over Penn State on Tuesday.
Will Kentucky shut down Wilkerson and the Hoosiers, or will Kentucky’s nightmare of a season continue? Refresh the feed below for updates, and KSR’s takes on the game from Rupp Arena and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread.
Special thanks to our live blog sponsor this season, Friends of Coal.
Friends of Coal is dedicated to informing and educating Kentucky citizens about the coal industry and its vital role in the state’s future. We provide a united voice for an industry that has been and remains a critical economic contributor to Kentucky. By working together, we can provide good jobs and benefits for future generations. Coal is RESILIENT, RELIABLE, and AFFORDABLE.
Friends of Coal is a volunteer organization. All are invited to be a part of our organization, which consists of proud Kentuckians as well as residents from beyond our borders. Head to friendsofcoalkentucky.org to learn more.
So, uh, we might just not be good
12/13/2025 07:51:12 PMKentucky is down 39-32 at the half while shooting just 32.1 percent from the field, 11.1 percent from three and 61.9 percent at the line. And it’s not like Indiana is shooting lights-out — the Hoosiers are knocking down just 40.9 percent of their attempts and 21.4 percent from three, but 94.7 percent at the line to make the difference.
Mo Dioubate and Kam Williams lead the way with five points apiece, followed by Denzel Aberdeen, Jaland Lowe and Trent Noah with four, Malachi Moreno with three and Brandon Garrison with two.
Woof.
Fouls are saving Kentucky
12/13/2025 07:38:34 PMThe Wildcats have taken 21 free throws in the first half, thanks to 13 total personal fouls compared to seven on the Hoosiers. Of them? Three on Lamar Wilkerson and three on Reed Bailey — two key pieces for IU, especially the former, who has 12 points on 4-7 shooting.
Indiana is only 2-12 from three and missing a ton of open looks. Kentucky has to go on a run or this could get ugly (again) for the blue and white.
Are you having fun yet?
12/13/2025 07:34:41 PMKentucky is shooting 30 percent from the field, 0 percent from three and 63.2 percent at the line with only six made field goals in the first 15:29 of the game. But Indiana only leads by two points! That’s good, right?
Right? Anybody? Please?
8:04 1H: Kentucky 19, Indiana 18
12/13/2025 07:24:27 PMKentucky can’t shoot (5-14 FG, 0-5 3PT), but the effort is there and it’s given the Wildcats the lead midway through the first half against Indiana.
Gotta get some offense going — preferably with more Jaland Lowe on the floor — but free throws are keeping them in this one with nine makes on 15 attempts at the line. Would love to have those six misses back, but the volume is working.
AND THE HALF-COURT SHOT FOR 10K
12/13/2025 07:13:48 PMMerry Christmas, kid! A quick 10K for him.
THAT is what BBN is looking for
12/13/2025 07:11:36 PMJaland Lowe checked into the game and made an immediate impact for the Wildcats, scoring two quick points and earning an assist, followed by a dive for a loose ball into the courtside seats to get Big Blue Nation fired up.
This fanbase has been dying for some heart from this Kentucky team. That was a great start with UK on a 6-0 run while holding Indiana without a field goal in 4:22.
Welcome back, Mo Dioubate!
12/13/2025 07:06:47 PMGoing down with an ankle injury in the Michigan State loss at Madison Square Garden, Dioubate is back for the Wildcats — and on his birthday!
Kentucky needs a spark. That should help.
15:21 1H: Indiana 11, Kentucky 5
12/13/2025 07:00:42 PMKentucky is off to a 1-5 shooting start and 0-2 from three with Malachi Moreno (three) and Trent Noah (two) the only scorers. Lamar Wilkerson is already up to five (2-3 FG) while Tayton Conerway has four (1-2 FG, 2-2 FT) with Indiana shooting 4-7 overall and 1-4 from deep.
5-2 rebounding advantage for the Hoosiers. No offense. Again.
Tough IU injury almost immediately
12/13/2025 06:53:47 PMIndiana’s Sam Alexis goes down with an injury less than a minute in, immediately helped back to the locker room. He came in averaging 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.0 minutes per contest. Starting center.
Not good for the Hoosiers.
THE BALL IS TIPPED
12/13/2025 06:50:53 PMTime to end the losing streak, folks. Now or never.
Kentucky vs. Indiana won’t start on time
12/13/2025 06:30:14 PMKansas vs. NC State is going to overtime on ESPN, so our game will certainly not start on time. The countdown clock at Rupp suggests a start closer to 7:45 p.m. ET. We’ll keep you updated.
Starting Lineups
12/13/2025 06:23:38 PMKentucky’s rolling with the same starting lineup as Tuesday, with Trent Noah at the four and Jaland Lowe coming off the bench. We’ve yet to hear if Mo Dioubate (ankle) will play, but he did go through warmups. Would be great to see him return to action on his birthday…
Kentucky Starters
- 00 Otega Oweh
- 1 Denzel Aberdeen
- 5 Collin Chandler
- 9 Trent Noah
- 24 Malachi Moreno
Indiana Starters
- 3 Lamar Wilkerson
- 5 Conor Enright
- 6 Tayton Conerway
- 4 Sam Alexis
- 12 Tucker DeVries
VOLLEYBALL TO THE FINAL FOUR
12/13/2025 05:38:23 PMKentucky volleyball is a force to be reckoned with, folks — and the Wildcats aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
Taking on Creighton in the Elite Eight, Craig Skinner’s group absolutely steamrolled through to a 3-0 sweep inside Historic Memorial Coliseum to advance to the program’s second-ever Final Four as they pursue a second national championship in a half-decade.
We got to see it unfold at Rupp Arena with the student section and early fans in attendance going crazy for their Cats — who now head to Kansas City for the Final Four next weekend.
Take a look:
The volleyball team is the best on campus right now and Craig Skinner is the best coach on campus. Now they’re about to go win a freaking championship.
GO CATS FOREVER.
Highlights from Mitch Barnhart’s interview
12/13/2025 05:19:17 PMMitch Barnhart’s interview with Tom Leach just wrapped up. The biggest takeaway to me is that Barnhart confirmed that UK/JMI encourages student-athletes to sign NIL deals with their official partners first, and if student-athletes don’t want to do that, they are able to pursue their own deals.
“There are certain things we have, Kentucky partners and people that have invested in our program, in the money that we get to help fund our program, our travel, all the expenses that we have, the things that we do for our student athletes, that has to come from somewhere. And we’ve got some incredibly strong Kentucky partners in our network, and we do ask that we look at that and say, Hey, is there a space for them to be able to work with our partners first? That’s most important, that we try and do that and stay connected to the people that are supporting us.
“I don’t think there’s a person out there that would disagree with, hey, if I’m working with someone really closely, I want to make sure that we do a good job of protecting them if we can, and if it doesn’t work, and they want to go create some we have got opportunities for them to go on and do their own thing.”
Barnhart reiterated that JMI and UK work together on NIL deals, and that when possible, they encourage student-athletes to work with UK’s official partners.
“There are things that when they come to the University of Kentucky, and they take opportunity revenues from the revenue share or from NIL, yes, there are some responsibilities they have to us, and that’s part of this deal. That’s no different here than it is anywhere else in the country. But at the end of the day, yeah, we are going to try and have people work with our folks first, if we can, and if that’s something that doesn’t work and they want to go do some other things, they absolutely have the opportunity to do that.”
At the very end of the interview, Barnhart acknowledged that a “couple” of sports teams are struggling to win and “we’ve got to get them going.” One of them is about to take the floor to face an old rival.
“The noise? There is a lot of it. Part of it is the responsibility to go win some things. We’ve got to go do that. We’ve got some teams doing that incredibly well. We got a couple that are — they’re struggling, and we’ve got to get them going.”
Mitch Barnhart’s interview is coming up
12/13/2025 04:54:02 PMBefore watching the Cats vs. the Hoosiers, we’ll hear from Mitch Barnhart. Kentucky’s athletic director will speak on Tom Leach on “Countdown to Tipoff” on the UK Sports Network starting at 6 p.m. ET. You can hear it live on 630 WLAP and UK Sports Network affiliates. I’ll also bring you the highlights here.
KSR is walking and talking to Rupp
12/13/2025 04:47:59 PMIt’s almost that time. Join Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan as they walk to Rupp Arena for tonight’s game.
How to Watch, Listen
12/12/2025 05:40:25 PMDick Vitale and Charles Barkley will be on the call tonight for ESPN alongside Dave O’Brien, marking the first time the two broadcasting legends have teamed up to call a game. They’ll also call a First Four game in the NCAA Tournament in March. Hopefully, the Cats give them something good to talk about.
- Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN (Dave O’Brien, Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 106 or 190
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