Kentucky vs. Loyola (Md.): Preview, Odds & How to Watch

It hasn’t been a great run for the Wildcats, but Kentucky can fix the bad vibes on Friday with a feel-good win vs. Loyola (Md.) of the Patriot League coming to Rupp Arena. The Greyhounds are coming off a 14-point loss at Duquesne with a quick turnaround, but that’s not a reason to overlook the experienced squad, which brings back nine players from a season ago.

What do you need to know about the matchup? KSR gets you ready for game six of Mark Pope’s second season in Lexington.

Kentucky vs. Loyola MD: How to Watch, Listen

• Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: SEC Network+ (Darren Headrick, Cameron Mills)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 81

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most vibrant online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

Season Rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 11

• 11/4: 77-51 W vs. Nicholls
• 11/7: 107-59 W vs. Valparaiso
• 11/11: 96-88 L at No. 12 Louisville
• 11/14: 99-53 W vs. Eastern Illinois
• 11/18: 83-66 L vs. Michigan State

Loyola MD: KenPom 292

• 11/3: 67-56 L vs. Towson
• 11/6: 96-60 W vs. Penn St. Abington
• 11/11: 66-64 L vs. NJIT
• 11/15: 74-63 W vs. Stonehill
• 11/16: 85-82 L at Fairfield
• 11/19: 92-78 L at Duquesne

Series History

Kentucky and Loyola (Md.) have met just once before, a 87-63 win for the Cats inside Rupp Arena during the 2011-12 season — you may remember that year well. Anthony Davis led UK with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on that day as the Wildcats outscored the Greyhounds 42-24 in the second half.

Mark Pope never faced off against Loyola (Md.) at either of his prior stops, while Josh Loeffler, in his second season with the program, hasn’t ever taken on the Wildcats, either.

Kentucky vs. Loyola (Md.) Odds

Coming off a disappointing loss in NYC, Vegas doesn’t feel the Cats will have any problems against the Greyhounds. Kentucky is a 34.5-point favorite on BetMGM. The total is 154.5 for a projected final score of 94.5-60.

KenPom is predicting a final score of 92-63 with a 99.6 percent chance to win, while Bart Torvik is calling for a 94-62 victory for the good guys with a 98 percent hit rate. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor also gives UK a 99.0 percent chance to get back in the win column.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#1 – Denzel Aberdeen
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
14.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.8 APG

#5 – Collin Chandler
6-5 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
11.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.0 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG

#23 – Mouhamed Dioubate
6-7 – 220 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
11.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 APG

#10 – Brandon Garrison
6-10 – 245 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
6.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.8 APG

Loyola (Md.) Potential Starters

#0 – Braeden Speed
6-3 – 190 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
13.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.3 APG

#3 – Jordan Stiemke
6-5 – 213 – GUARD – JUNIOR
8.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.5 APG

#6 – Jacob Theodosiou
6-4 – 204 – GUARD – JUNIOR
17.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.2 APG

#7 – Jonas Sirtautas
6-10 – 205 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
8.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.3 APG

#22 – Sam Springer
6-7– 223 – FORWARD – SOPHOMORE
8.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.3 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky has held three of its four opponents to 60 points or fewer for the first time since 2014-15. The Cats are currently limiting opponents to 37.7% from the field and 30.7% from behind the arc. UK is also pulling down 83.7% of its opponents’ misses, and owns a +11.4 margin on the boards.
• UK has had five different leading scorers through the first five games. The Cats have also had six different players lead or co-lead in rebounds and five in assists.
• Denzel Aberdeen, the team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, has scored in double figures in five consecutive games to start the season — the longest of his career.
• Collin Chandler is shooting 52.8 percent (28-53) from three over his last 15 games played dating back to last season with at least one make in 12 straight games.

Pregame Storylines

WILL JALAND LOWE PLAY?

Kentucky received somewhat good news on Thursday when Pope said his injured starting point guard did not immediately go through with surgery to keep him out the remainder of the season. For now, the plan is to see how his shoulder responds before potentially giving it another shot with Lowe returning to the floor for the Wildcats.

Will that be tonight? Probably not, but we’ll take whatever good news we can right now.

“We’re still in consultation, still seeing how rehab goes,” Pope said. “So right now, it’s just a matter of like, can he get to a place where he feels some stability and some strength? I wish I had better answers for you right now, but it really is a day-to-day kind of process to see where he ends up. He’s got really good mobility right now. And so it’s just a matter of stability and strength and kind of see what we get and take another swing if he can.”

HOW ABOUT MO DIOUBATE?

We saw Dioubate go down late against Michigan State and did not return, Pope later confirming it was an ankle issue. Will it impact his status going into tonight’s game? It certainly could.

“He’s got an ankle [injury]. I don’t think he’ll practice today, and it’ll be a game-time [decision],” he said. “I would think there’s probably some significant chance he won’t play. But he’s tough as nails.”

DO WE SEE A SHAKE-UP IN THE STARTING LINEUP?

With Dioubate’s potential absence, does Pope use this opportunity to really get creative with the starting lineup and rotation overall coming off the Michigan State loss? It’s certainly something to keep an eye on, with Kam Williams and Malachi Moreno the leaders in the clubhouse at the four and five if a change is made, respectively. Is now the time for the McDonald’s All-American freshman, who has been outplaying Brandon Garrison through five games, to earn a spot in the starting lineup? The minutes will be something to watch across the board, at minimum.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOYOLA (MD.)?

The Greyhounds are coming off a double-digit loss at Duquesne and sit at 2-4 on the season, but Pope saw some things during the scouting process that could give his team some trouble at Rupp Arena on Friday night.

“Good team. They’re playing well right now,” he said. “They just played a terrific game last night on the road at Duquesne, it was a good team. They change defenses; they’ll give us all different defensive looks. They had some guys that have been shooting it better and better and better. They had a player that I didn’t even know was on the roster that showed up last night and actually played well. They’re a good team. It’s going to be a good, competitive game. We’re looking forward to it.”

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a special Rapid Reaction this time around — live from Nashville ahead of Kentucky’s football game at Vanderbilt. It’ll be a football crew crossover you won’t want to miss on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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