LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Valparaiso
After a slow first half, Kentucky rolled to a 77-51 win over Nicholls in the season opener. With Jaland Lowe back in the lineup, will the Cats cruise to victory vs. Valparaiso? Follow KSR’s LIVE BLOG for all the big moments of Game Two of the BBN United Tipoff Classic, Presented by Kentucky Tourism (7:00 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Lowe will make his Kentucky debut tonight, but Trent Noah is likely out after rolling his ankle on Tuesday. Either way, the Cats shouldn’t have too much problem with Valparaiso, which is ranked No. 287 in KenPom and coached by Roger Powell, a former Gonzaga assistant. The Beacons beat Eastern Illinois, which Kentucky hosts next week, 66-63 on Tuesday. The Cats are a 34.5-point favorite on BetMGM.
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 or by texting your observations to 859-710-3556 (standard messaging rates apply).
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Kentucky 87, Valparaiso 45 – 7:21 2H
11/07/2025 07:34:46 PMKentucky continues to cruise in the second half, even if they’ve cooled off a little from the outside. After going 7-13 from the three-point line in the first half, the Cats are just 2-8 in the second half. Collin Chandler just hit his fourth, and Kentucky leads by 42 with 7:21 to go.
Add John Short to the jumbotron club:
Kentucky now leads by 40
11/07/2025 07:22:30 PMKentucky’s offense has been humming most of the night, but the Cats just went three and a half minutes without a field goal. Malachi Moreno ended the scoring drought with this bucket and foul on Shon Tupuola. Two free throws later, and the Cats lead by 40. Malachi is up to 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Kentucky 78, Valpo 38 – 11:40 2H
Kentucky 70, Valparaiso 32 – 15:58 2H
11/07/2025 07:13:37 PMThe Cats are firmly in control at the under-16 media timeout, leading Valpo by 38 points. Since my last update, Brandon Garrison picked up his fourth foul, so it may be Malachi Moreno time.
Meanwhile, look who got on the jumbotron at Rupp: our very own Drew Franklin and Alan Cutler!
Brandon Garrison’s up to 12 points
11/07/2025 07:07:07 PMNine Kentucky players have scored so far, three in double figures, with Brandon Garrison leading the way with 12 points. He also has three rebounds, two assists — and three fouls. BG’s latest foul might send him to the bench for a bit, but productive minutes from him so far.
Kentucky 67, Valpo 29 – 17:14 2H
Craig Skinner took the mic at halftime
11/07/2025 06:58:59 PMCraig Skinner started the week getting on a table ahead of Mark Stoops’ press conference at Kroger Field to promote Kentucky Volleyball’s match against Tennessee. He took it a step further tonight, addressing BBN from the rafters of Rupp Arena. The No. 2 Cats host the No. 19 Vols at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday at Historic Memorial Coliseum.
HALFTIME: Kentucky leads by a lot of points
11/07/2025 06:43:51 PMThe Wildcats are up 58-26 at the break, shooting 64.7 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from three and 100 percent at the line. Denzel Aberdeen still leads all scorers with 10 (2-2 FG, 5-5 FT), followed by Collin Chandler with nine (3-4 FG), Otega Oweh (4-5 FG) and Brandon Garrison (3-3 FG) with eight, Jasper Johnson (2-3 FG) and Malachi Moreno with six (3-5 FG), Mo Dioubate with five (2-3 FG), Jaland Lowe with four (2-3 FG) and Andrija Jelavic with two (1-4 FG). Kam Williams remains the lone Wildcat without a make, unfortunately — gotta get him in on the fun in the final 20.
Valpo is shooting just 26.3 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and 50.0 percent at the line, Rakim Chaney (seven points) and Carter Hopoi (four points) the only players with multiple baskets.
We’re having a lot of fun here at Rupp Arena.
How about a record before halftime?
11/07/2025 06:41:31 PMKentucky scored 57 points in a half on two occasions last season. The Wildcats are now up to 58 — and it’s not over yet. That’s a new Mark Pope record.
Cam Drummond of the Herald-Leader pulled that stat from the archives (of one season and two games under Pope).
Eight players have now scored multiple buckets
11/07/2025 06:38:39 PMKentucky leads 56-20 with 2:42 to go in the first half, the Cats up to 68/64/100 shooting splits while holding the Beacons to 24/12/50.
How about the balance, though? Eight players now have multiple baskets, led by Denzel Aberdeen with 10, followed by Collin Chandler with nine, Otega Oweh with eight, Brandon Garrison, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno with six, Mo Dioubate with five, Jaland Lowe with four and Andrija Jelavic with two. Kam Williams is the lone Wildcat without a make.
That kind of night for the good guys.
Make that a 17-2 run in four minutes with a 35-point lead
11/07/2025 06:34:26 PMRemember how much we loved the defense of that first half vs. Nicholls? That’s still going strong, Valpo shooting just 21.4 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from three with 16 total points.
Now the offense has followed, Kentucky up to 51 points on 66/60/100 splits with five full minutes left in the half. This is insane.
So… Collin Chandler?
11/07/2025 06:27:15 PMHe finished with a team-high 15 points in the season opener, now he’s already up to nine points barely over midway through the first half of game two? Nine points, two rebounds, one assist and one block in nine minutes for Collin Chandler.
Has Air Mormon arrived?
Kentucky is on a 10-0 run with a 22-point lead
11/07/2025 06:19:07 PMWant to know what 10 points in less than a minute looks like? There ya go. Goodness, this is fun, Kentucky taking a 30-8 lead less than ten minutes into the game. Currently on pace for 120 points and 16 made 3-pointers on 60/50/100 splits.
Truly could not ask for a better start for the Cats. Collin Chandler now leads the way with six after hitting another three, and Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno are now both on the board.
Fun times.
What a start for the Cats
11/07/2025 06:11:15 PMKentucky is currently on a 15-2 run over the last three-and-a-half minutes and a 7-0 run in the last 1:23. Jaland Lowe has been an immediate game-changer in terms of pace and ball movement. It’s almost like missing your starting point guard hurts, right? Getting him back certainly helps.
Denzel Aberdeen has a quick five points, followed by Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison with four apiece, Collin Chandler with three and Mo Dioubate and Lowe with two. UK leads 20-7.
Jaland Lowe makes his Kentucky debut
11/07/2025 06:06:07 PMThe Pittsburgh transfer is on the floor for the Wildcats, making his Kentucky debut at the 16:33 mark in the first half with UK up 13-3. He previously missed both exhibition games and the opener vs. Nicholls with a shoulder injury.
Collin Chandler picks up right where he left off
11/07/2025 06:02:51 PMIt was a slow start for the Mormon Mamba last go-round before finishing red-hot with a team-high 15 points. How will it be this time? He’s 1-1 from three as Kentucky is rolling offensively.
Just two minutes in, the Cats are up 11-3. No slow starts today.
And we’re off (with an Oweh jumper!)
11/07/2025 06:01:56 PMThe ball is tipped, and seconds into the game, Otega Oweh knocked down a pull-up jumper to take a 2-0 lead.
Let’s keep up the pace for another 39 minutes and change, Cats.
STARTING LINEUPS
11/07/2025 05:47:36 PMJaland Lowe will play, but he will not start. In his place, it’ll be the group that finished the Nicholls win:
- Denzel Aberdenn
- Collin Chandler
- Otega Oweh
- Mo Dioubate
- Brandon Garrison
Hopefully the start is better than the opening segment against the Colonels — and the finish is even better.
Tip-off coming in 10 minutes.
Pope on Jaland Lowe
11/07/2025 05:30:07 PMJaland Lowe will make his Kentucky debut after injuring his shoulder in the Blue-White Game. During his pregame conversation with Tom Leach, Mark Pope said that Lowe’s speed stood out most to him when they recruited him from the transfer portal. Since Lowe arrived on campus, Pope has been most impressed by his leadership.
“He’s got a real burst. He’s cat quick, can change direction really well. He’s an unbelievable playmaker. He’s got great vision, can get from end to end really, really fast. He’ll have a possession every game where kind of dribbles by all nine players in transition, which just gets to the rim to make plays for teammates. So that’s probably the first thing that stuck out.
“The thing that’s been most impressive since he’s been here is his leadership qualities, like he’s born to lead. He’s still growing in that capacity, but he’s got the right voice, he’s got a really good mentality, and he’s like I said, we still have room to grow there, for sure, but he’s got a chance to really lead this team.”
Cats debuting Nike Kobe 5 Kentucky PEs tonight
11/07/2025 05:19:40 PMThe Cats will be wearing some cool new shoes tonight. The Cats will debut the Nike Kobe 5 Kentucky PEs tonight. Enjoy some pictures of them from UK below.
Join KSR on the walk to Rupp Arena
11/07/2025 04:45:20 PMWe’re just over an hour from tipoff. Join Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan as they walk to Rupp Arena and chat about tonight’s game. For now, it looks like the rain is holding off.
Jaland Lowe is warming up
11/07/2025 04:23:11 PMMark Pope said yesterday that Jaland Lowe will be available for tonight’s game. Sure enough, Lowe is out for warm-ups, wearing a big wrap on his right shoulder.
How to Watch, Listen
11/07/2025 11:04:47 AMTonight’s game is on SEC Network+, aka “on the computer.” If you’re a YouTubeTV subscriber, it could be especially difficult to follow along, as Google’s dispute with Disney drags on. If you don’t want to subscribe to ESPN Unlimited, there are some options. You can get a five-day trial to FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, or a day pass from Sling that includes access to SEC Network+. Or, you can hope someone streams it for free on YouTube.
- Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
- TV: SEC Network+ (Andrew Kappes, Travis Ford)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 210 or 201
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
If you’re not sure how to access SEC Network+, Steven Peake is here to help you out.
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