KSR Staff Predictions: Kentucky vs. Eastern Illinois

by: KSR2 hours ago

kentucky-vs-eastern-illinois-ksr-staff-predictions — The students section at Rupp Arena during a Kentucky game - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

The finale of the BBN United Tipoff Classic, presented by Kentucky Tourism, is here. Tonight, Kentucky has a chance to bounce back from Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Louisville and take home the BBNUTOKPBKT crown with a win over Eastern Illinois. It sounds like the Cats will have to do it without their top point guard, Jaland Lowe, who reinjured his shoulder in practice on Thursday.

Eastern Illinois is 1-2 this season, beating Nicholls (65-57) and losing at Valparaiso (66-63) and Notre Dame (78-58). The Panthers are led by former Evansville coach Marty Simmons, who is in his fifth season. They’ve got a Kentucky kid in the starting lineup, Louisville native Meechie White, who grew up dreaming of playing for the Cats.

Will White have his Rupp moment tonight? Will the Cats take care of business without Lowe and ease fans’ concerns heading into next week’s game vs. Michigan State in the Champions Classic? The KSR crew is ready to weigh in.

Nick Roush

This feels like a repeat of the Valpo game, simply because Eastern Illinois struggles to put the ball in the basket. They haven’t surpassed 65 points this season, and they rank No. 351 out of 365 teams in adjusted offensive efficiency. It’s the ideal spot for this Kentucky defense to get right after getting picked apart by Louisville.

Offensively, I’m ready to see Otega Oweh look like Otega Oweh again. The Preseason SEC Player of the Year hasn’t looked like himself so far. With Lowe’s status in doubt, that can’t linger much longer. The time is right for Oweh to put it all together and get back to playing quality, reliable basketball before the Champions Classic test against Michigan State.

Score: Kentucky 95, Eastern Illinois 48

Drew Franklin

With the loss to rival Louisville still lingering, Kentucky needs a strong bounce-back tonight against Eastern Illinois. We’ve playfully looked ahead to this game as the championship of the BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism, but it’s no longer a laughing matter after the concerns raised earlier this week.

For one, Otega Oweh needs to come out on a mission, and I think he will. He was not the best NBA prospect on the court, nor was he even one of the better players on either team. He was actually Kentucky’s worst in the +/- (-16). Big Oweh game incoming in the return to Rupp Arena.

We also need to see Denzel Aberdeen step up at point guard, and the team as a whole needs to limit turnovers on offense and step up its defense. The step down in competition should help. Kentucky wins big to continue the up-and-down start to 2025-26.

Kentucky 93, Eastern Illinois 54

Tyler Thompson

Kentucky should handle Eastern Illinois easily, even without Jaland Lowe. I expect Denzel Aberdeen to handle point guard duties while Lowe is out, but tonight could be a good chance to experiment with some other backcourt combinations in case Lowe is out for the foreseeable future. The same goes for the frontcourt after Tuesday’s mess.

Lineup tinkering aside, the one consistent tonight should be Otega Oweh. Like Nick and Drew said, everyone needs to see Oweh return to form after a disappointing night in Louisville. I’d also like to see Kam Williams build on a promising performance and Trent Noah work his way back into the fold. Tuesday showed us the Cats need shooters, so tonight is a good opportunity to refocus on spacing and buckets. Also, defense.

It’s been a rough week for BBN, so a feel-good Friday night is in order. It probably won’t alleviate the big-picture concerns, but it’s necessary ahead of Tuesday night’s game against Michigan State in New York.

Score: Kentucky 91, Eastern Illinois 53

Jacob Polacheck

The BBN United Tipoff Classic, presented by Kentucky Tourism, is back as Kentucky looks to clinch a championship. However, after the loss to Louisville on Tuesday, fans want to see more than a win. They want to see that this team has fixed some of the issues that they showed earlier this week.

Without Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen will need to step up in a big way for Kentucky. He did so against Louisville, and now he’ll have even more responsibility on Friday. Kentucky also needs Otega Oweh at his best, which he was not against Louisville. Oweh needs to take the right shots and not force anything to be at his most capable.

I’m expecting Kam Williams to continue his strong play, knocking down shots, and even making some big plays on the defensive end. Overall, I’m expecting a solid defensive performance from Kentucky in a dominant win.

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Score: Kentucky 94, Eastern Illinois 50

Zack Geoghegan

With how the last few days have gone, Kentucky could desperately use a feel-good win. I think it happens tonight, even if Jaland Lowe is unable to give it a go. If you’re looking for a potential bright spot, know that Kentucky’s best players this season have been in the backcourt: Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler. Those two will have an even larger opportunity to show off their talents if Lowe ends up missing significant time. Do they possess the same playmaking skills as Lowe? No, but they can score the ball and play defense. They should be able to overwhelm Eastern Illinois.

I want to see more out of Kam Williams. After helping fuel Kentucky’s second-half comeback attempt against Louisville, it’s time for that production to carry over. Let’s see if Trent Noah can hit a couple of shots. Brandon Garrison and Malachi Moreno should both grab 10 rebounds each against an undersized EIU frontcourt. And then of course, just like my KSR friends have said, let’s see Otega Oweh piece together an all-around game. The Panthers will be one of the 3-4 worst teams UK plays all season. It should be a rout from start to finish.

Score: Kentucky 89, Eastern Illinois 60

Adam Luckett

Kentucky will be looking for a bounce-back performance after Tuesday’s loss to Louisville. The Cats should get that on Friday night against Eastern Illinois.

The Panthers play slow, struggle to score, but they do take away the three-point line. That means UK must be willing to get downhill and finish shots at the rim. This is a big game for the frontcourt and could be the matchup Otega Oweh needs to get rolling.

Kentucky should post some good defensive numbers and their overall positional size will give this Ohio Valley team some issues.

Score: Kentucky 84, Eastern Illinois 50

Jack Pilgrim

Things are not good in Lexington right now, following up the Louisville loss with the news that Jaland Lowe reinjured his right shoulder, putting his long-term status up in the air — and certainly tonight against Eastern Illinois. Fortunately, the Panthers are not good and the Wildcats should be able to survive this one pretty easily without him. Those concerns are for another day.

Until then, we’ll focus on the fact that EIU ranks No. 313 nationally and No. 351 offensively out of 365 total teams on KenPom. The OVC competition turns it over a ton (23.4 TO%) and shoots it poorly (No. 317, 42.4 EFG%) while also being pretty bad defensively (No. 192). Zion Fruster is a good player and we love the feel-good return of Meechie White — a lifelong Kentucky fan from Louisville, now a Panther — but this is an overwhelming personnel advantage for the Wildcats.

With Lowe out, all eyes are on Denzel Aberdeen taking over PG1 duties and everything else falling into place from there. Can Jasper Johnson emerge as the secondary option there, keeping Collin Chandler off the ball, where he is off to a red-hot shooting start? Can Otega Oweh wake up at the three coming off his worst performance in a Kentucky jersey?

In a get-right opportunity for the Cats, I expect this to be comfortable from start to finish with dominant offensive and defensive performances. Jasper Johnson is my game MVP, but watch out for Andrija Jelavic — he’s on the cusp of a breakthrough.

Score: Kentucky 106, Eastern Illinois 56