LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Michigan State in the Champions Classic
A week after the loss at Louisville, Kentucky has a chance to prove itself on the national stage. KSR’s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the big moments from No. 12 Kentucky vs. No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Kentucky is coming off a 46-point win over Eastern Illinois, which brought the Cats’ record to 3-1. Michigan State is 3-0, its most impressive win coming at home over Arkansas. The Spartans are led by big man Jaxon Kohler, who is averaging a double-double (14.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG), and point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who is averaging a nation’s best 9.3 assists per game. That said, they’re one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country (27.1%). Kentucky’s defense was bad vs. Louisville. Tonight is a great opportunity for the Cats to show they’re better than the team that lost a week ago.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
MSU 83 UK 66
Spartans embarrass Cats
- 2New
Red flags
So many vs. Michigan State
- 3New
Pope
Pauses spoke volumes after loss
- 4New
Brandon Garrison
Another rough game
- 5
UK vs. Michigan State
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Jaland Lowe will miss another game with a shoulder injury, so Denzel Aberdeen will once again lead the way. We should get an update on Lowe’s shoulder from Mark Pope before and after the game. Jack Pilgrim will also bring you whatever he’s hearing from courtside at Madison Square Garden.
Refresh the feed below for updates and KSR’s takes on the game from Madison Square Garden and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread or by texting your observations to 859-710-3556 (standard messaging rates apply).
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.
FINAL: Michigan State 83, Kentucky 66
11/18/2025 07:38:26 PMIt was an all-systems failure for the Cats tonight, on a very big stage, one week after an upsetting loss to Louisville. Here’s the box score. Should be an interesting postgame press conference.
Michigan State is clearing the bench
11/18/2025 07:36:25 PMYou know it’s bad when Michigan State is clearing its bench. That’s what’s happening right now with under a minute to go.
“I did not have this on my Bingo card”
11/18/2025 07:32:52 PMJay Bilas had the understatement of the night when he said he didn’t have Kentucky trailing Michigan State by 20+ on his Bingo card. What a worrisome performance after a very odd week.
Michigan State 83, Kentucky 61 – 1:21 2H
Michigan State 76, Kentucky 56 – 3:08 2H
11/18/2025 07:27:45 PMKentucky hasn’t hit a field goal in four minutes. They only have three minutes left in this game. This stinks.
Mo Dioubate may be hurt
11/18/2025 07:24:08 PMAdding injury to insult (does it work to reverse that?), Mo Dioubate appears hurt. Dioubate came up limping after a play. He started to walk to the tunnel, but is back on the bench.
A disturbing sideline report
11/18/2025 07:22:11 PMKentucky looks bad. ESPN’s Kris Budden didn’t have a great sideline update to share, saying on the broadcast that Kentucky’s players were “barking at each other” during the timeout. Not what you want to hear at any time, especially when you’re down big.
Michigan State’s lead is up to 20 with five minutes to go.
The lead is back to 14
11/18/2025 07:16:20 PMKentucky’s bad habits continue to outweigh the good. The Cats continue to make horrible decisions on both ends of the ball, most notably on defense. For every three-pointer, there’s a wide-open lane for Michigan State to saunter down and score. That’s not how you come back and win a game.
Michigan State 69, Kentucky 55 – 6:10 2H
Michigan State 60, Kentucky 50 – 9:37 2H
11/18/2025 07:08:58 PMHere come the Cats? Michigan State’s Trey Fort responded to Kam Williams’ three with a jumper to push the lead back to 12, but Jasper Johnson knocked it back down to 10 with a layup off a missed Williams three, prompting Tom Izzo to call a timeout. Kentucky’s on a 13-4 run.
Not over yet…
Kam Williams cuts it to 10!
11/18/2025 07:08:15 PMKam Williams has come out of his cocoon over the last few games. He just hit a three to cut the lead to ten and cap off an 11-2 Kentucky run. Let’s go!
Michigan State 58, Kentucky 44 – 11:46 2H
11/18/2025 07:01:18 PMKentucky’s trying to chip away at Michigan State’s lead, hitting five of the last six field goals. The Spartans continue to respond. Ball movement, shot selection, defense. You name it, it’s bad right now in New York.
Mo Dioubate is trying to lead the charge
11/18/2025 06:56:21 PMKentucky needs a hero. Mo Dioubate is trying to be him, scoring six of Kentucky’s ten points in the second half. Unfortunately, the Cats keep making mistakes and the Spartans keep making shots…
Michigan State 50, Kentucky 36 – 15:26 2H
11/18/2025 06:51:39 PMMo Dioubate is trying to bring Kentucky back into this game, but we just got another piece of bad news. Collin Chandler just picked up his fourth foul. Not what you want to see from your top three-point shooter when you’re trying to make a comeback.
Meanwhile, the Louisville pregame incident has made it to the national media circles, which means he’ll probably be asked about it again tonight.
WBB leads Purdue at half 44-26
11/18/2025 06:47:46 PMHere’s some positive news: Kentucky WBB leads Purdue 44-26 at halftime at Historic Memorial Coliseum, where the MBB watch party got so depressing they stopped showing the game on the jumbotron.
Otega Oweh SLAM!
11/18/2025 06:45:47 PMKentucky needs a spark. That transition slam by Otega Oweh may be it. Off a pass from Brandon Garrison, Oweh slammed it home. More, please.
Lowest point total in a half of the Mark Pope Era
11/18/2025 06:38:39 PMKentucky’s 27 points are a low for a half in the Mark Pope era. The Cats have come back from big halftime deficits before under Pope, Duke and Gonzaga last season, to name a few. It would be awesome if they did it again tonight — and moving forward, didn’t dig such big holes…
HALFTIME: MSU 44, UK 27
11/18/2025 06:26:01 PMDenzel Aberdeen leads the way with nine points on 1-4 shooting and 6-6 from the line, followed by Collin Chandler with seven, Otega Oweh with five, Kam Williams with three, Mo Dioubate with two and Malachi Moreno with two. As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 27.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three.
On the other end, Jaxon Kohler leads the way with 12 points on 5-6 shooting with four rebounds while Jeremy Fears Jr. and Kur Teng are right behind with seven, Trey Fort and Jesse McCulloch with five apiece, Coen Carr with four and Cameron Ward and Carson Cooper with two. As a team, they’ve hit 51.5 percent of their attempts and 53.8 percent from three.
No field goals in three minutes for the Cats
11/18/2025 06:20:51 PMThere isn’t much more that can be said at this point. Kentucky has scored 27 points in 19 minutes of a regulation basketball game. .844 points per possession, the Wildcats embarrassing themselves on the national stage against the Spartans — who have controlled the game ever since a strong start for UK, canceled out by uncharacteristic shooting.
MSU is up to 44 points, good for 1.257 points per possession with five different players scoring multiple buckets. A horrific offensive team is shooting 52/54/75 splits to smack Mark Pope’s team around, just as we saw Ohio State do a year ago in the same building, right before Christmas.
3:08 1H: Michigan State 40, Kentucky 25
11/18/2025 06:16:10 PMKentucky is stinking up the joint, again, at Madison Square Garden. Just an unacceptable product against a team the Wildcats have no business being manhandled by.
32.0 percent shooting overall, 30.8 percent from three. Now scoring just .862 points per possession. Just a gross product on the floor right now led by Mark Pope.
Make that another 9-0 run for MSU
11/18/2025 06:06:26 PMThings are getting worse before they get better for Kentucky, now down 32-19 with Michigan State on another big 9-0 run in the last minute-and-a-half. The Wildcats, again, haven’t scored in two-and-a-half minutes.
What happened to the team that destroyed No. 1 Purdue in the preseason?
7:45 1H: Michigan State 25, Kentucky 19
11/18/2025 06:01:19 PMDefense has, again, not been good enough for the Wildcats — the same story from a week ago at Louisville. Michigan State is shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from three with seven different Spartans on the board in the first three segments. For Kentucky, the offense has fallen off a cliff, now down to .905 points per possession in 21 possessions.
Kentucky hasn’t scored a point in four minutes
11/18/2025 05:57:01 PMA full segment of the game has gone by and the Wildcats haven’t scored a point, allowing the Spartans to go on a 9-0 run in the same span. That’s led to a 23-17 lead for Michigan State in a game Kentucky has controlled from what has felt like the opening tip.
They have to start missing soon, right?
11/18/2025 05:53:10 PMMichigan State made 13 3-pointers on the season up to this point while shooting 21.7 percent from deep — again, one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Tonight, the Spartans have hit five of eight attempts for 62.5 percent. Two of those makes came from a big man shooting 25 percent on the year.
This isn’t sustainable, right? Please? We’re begging.
I hope nobody expected defense
11/18/2025 05:44:50 PMKentucky is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 60 percent from three while Michigan State is a blistering 66.7 percent from beyond the arc to start this one with four made threes. That’s the only reason the Spartans are staying alive at this point.
The pace is wild, though, with eight fastbreak points for the blue and white while scoring 1.417 points per possession through seven minutes. The green and white have seen three different players hit shots from deep — including two from their big man, Jaxon Kohler.
This is how the Wildcats play, but not necessarily what we’re used to seeing from the Spartans. We’ll see if the latter regresses as things settle down.
Of course MSU is hitting shots
11/18/2025 05:41:35 PMOne of the worst 3-point shooting teams in America has hit three early ones — go figure, right? That’s allowed Michigan State to hang in there, but Kentucky has controlled the pace and appears to be the aggressor here, even in a 10-9 lead for the Wildcats.
Collin Chandler has five points, picking up right where he’s left off to start the year. Otega Oweh also has a three while Denzel Aberdeen has converted a pair of free throws.
College Gameday is rolling with the Cats
11/18/2025 05:30:10 PMIt’s a sweep. Andraya Carter, Jay Williams, and Seth Greenberg all picked Kentucky to beat Michigan State.
Starters
11/18/2025 05:26:00 PMThe Cats are sticking with the same starting five vs. Michigan State.
Kentucky
- 00 Otega Oweh
- 1 Denzel Aberdeen
- 5 Collin Chandler
- 10 Brandon Garrison
- 23 Mo Dioubate
Michigan State
- 1 Jeremy Fears Jr.
- 9 Trey Fort
- 0 Jaxon Kohler
- 55 Coen Carr
- 15 Carson Cooper
Pope talks Jaland Lowe’s injury
11/18/2025 05:07:48 PMJaland Lowe won’t give it a go tonight as he continues to rehab his shoulder injury. Mark Pope told Tom Leach during pregame radio that there is no indication right now as to what the next step will be with Lowe, but he added that “we should have some more direction in the next few days.” Denzel Aberdeen, who has been playing well, will step in at point guard once again for the ‘Cats.
Tonight’s officials
11/18/2025 04:52:03 PM…are Pat Driscoll, Don Daily, and Keith Kimble. Kentucky is 6-2 in games officiated by Driscoll, 41-11 by Daily, and 10-11 by Kimble. This is the first Kentucky game this season for all three, and the first for Driscoll since 2019.
Kentucky will be the home team tonight
11/18/2025 04:48:16 PMThe Cats will be wearing their white home uniforms tonight. The Kentucky Wildcats rug in the middle of the locker room is a nice touch.
CBS Sports Network special on Mark Pope
11/18/2025 04:40:04 PMCBS Sports crews have been in Lexington over the past month. Now, we know why. “Home Court: Mark Pope” will air tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. Based on the clips on social media, it will feature behind-the-scenes footage, an interview between Bill Raftery and Pope, and a walk with Lee Anne and Mark in the countryside (that part is in this Instagram clip that I can’t embed).
A live view of Jack Demsey’s and Madison Square Garden
11/18/2025 04:07:25 PMIt’s not a trip to New York City for a Kentucky game without a stop at Jack Demsey’s. Jack Pilgrim and Steven Peake are making the rounds at the famous bar to get the pulse of BBN ahead of tonight’s game vs. Michigan State.
How to Watch, Listen
11/18/2025 02:23:05 PMKentucky vs. Michigan State is the first part of the doubleheader tonight. ESPN will air the College Football Playoff rankings right after our game is over, which will be followed by Kansas vs. Duke. College Gameday will air live from Madison Square Garden at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, featuring Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg, Jay Williams, and Andraya Carter.
- Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Kris Budden)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 84
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