KSR Gameday: Kentucky Basketball tips off the season vs. Nicholls

After one thrilling exhibition and one scary one, it’s time for Kentucky to tip off the 2025-26 season for real. The Cats host the Nicholls Colonels tonight at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena, the start of not only the season but the BBN United Tipoff Classic (presented by Kentucky Tourism).

By now, I think everyone has turned the page from last week’s disappointing loss to Georgetown; however, it remains to be seen if the Cats will have Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and Denzel Aberdeen (leg) back in the lineup. Both sat out Thursday night’s exhibition, and Jon Rothstein tweeted on Monday that Pope still wasn’t sure if they would play tonight. After the loss to Georgetown, Pope said he expected both to return to action “within the next week or two.”

Regardless, Kentucky should take care of business vs. Nicholls, which hails from Thibodaux, Louisiana and competes in the Southland Conference. The Colonels finished 20-13 last season, their third under Tevon Saddler, the youngest active Division I coach in the country at just 30 years old. Only three players return from last year’s team: Jaylen Searles (6.5 points per game), Trae English (6.1 ppg), and Sincere Malone (5.6 ppg). Joining them are ten newcomers, nine from the transfer portal.

Kentucky is a 29.5-point favorite, with the total set at 152.5 points. The Cats are 101-21 in season openers, 45-4 at Rupp Arena. Pope memorably won his first season-opener as Kentucky’s head coach by 41 points, 103-62, vs. Wright State a year ago. Hopefully, tonight’s game follows a similar script.

How to Watch, Listen

Both games this week (Nicholls, Valparaiso) will be 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+.

• Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: SEC Network+ (Noah Frary, Ravi Moss)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: TBA
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

If you’re not sure how to access SEC Network+, Steven Peake is here to help you out.

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

Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including game threads, in-depth scouting reports, and the latest recruiting and roster intel. $1 for a week.

Jasper Johnson, Brandon Garrison preview Nicholls

On Monday, freshman Jasper Johnson and junior Brandon Garrison met with reporters to talk about the season opener. Even though Nicholls has ten new players, Kentucky has two exhibitions’ worth of film to study, with scout starting on Saturday. Garrison said the Colonels are physical and can shoot; Johnson noticed how they bring the ball down the floor from different positions. Nicholls may not be a brand-name like Purdue or Georgetown, but the Cats will be locked in.

“I’m not overlooking Nicholls, I know they’re a great team,” Johnson said. “Just trying to come in and be as prepared as possible, so that when we get into the game, we know what we can do and execute, just try to win.”

“They’re gonna come out here hungry, just like every other team,” Garrison added. “They get to play in Rupp Arena, everybody dreams of it. So we’re just going out there and giving it our all.”

KSR’s Season Predictions

I think we all feel pretty comfortable about a win tonight. What about the rest of the season? The KSR crew shared its season predictions last night, ranging from best wins to worst losses, hot takes, and SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament results. It won’t surprise you that we have very high expectations for the season (especially those of us who filmed our segments right after the Purdue game).

KSR Season Predictions

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ICYMI, Kentucky Women’s Basketball beat Morehead State

The Kentucky Women’s Basketball team got its season off to a good start last night, beating Morehead State 75-59. It was a sloppy first half for the Cats, who shot only 40% from the field and 19% from three-point range in the first two quarters; however, they found their footing in the third quarter, blowing the game open with a 14-1 run.

Tonie Morgan led Kentucky in scoring with 16 points, one of four Cats in double figures. Jordan Obi and Clara Strack had matching double doubles, with 15 points and 15 rebounds. It was an especially sweet debut for Obi, who missed all of last season with a leg injury.

The Cats are back in action Thursday vs. Monmouth (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).

Offense Day at Football Practice

Over at the Joe Craft Training Center, preparations for Saturday’s game vs. Florida continue. Mark Stoops was in a good mood on Monday, happy to be speaking to reporters after a win rather than a loss. The Cats snapped their 10-game SEC losing streak at Auburn. On Saturday, they could snap another: the 11-game losing streak to Power Four opponents at Kroger Field. Stoops is eager to make it happen.

“Definitely. Let’s be honest – we want to win every week, whether it’s home or away so I don’t think that’s anything to even discuss. There’s always a balance with being too high, being too low and we always try to find that slot (in the middle). I don’t think that needs to be discussed. We’ve won a game here this year. I know people will write or say whatever, but it’s not like we haven’t won a game in Kroger Field. We just got to go have a great week and do the things necessary to put ourselves in a position to win.”

Bush Hamdan and members of the offense will meet with reporters today to discuss the win over Auburn and what lies ahead vs. the Gators. Two of Hamdan’s players earned kudos from the SEC on Monday. Cutter Boley won SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, while Jalen Farmer took home SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week for their performances vs. Auburn.

Men’s and Women’s Soccer in action

We’ve also got two soccer matches today. The No. 18 Kentucky men’s soccer team plays at Old Dominion at 7 p.m. ET. (ESPN+) in the final game of the regular season. The Cats clinched the Sun Belt regular season title over the weekend with a 1-0 win vs. Georgia State. They will be the No. 1 seed in the SBC Tournament, which starts November 9.

The Kentucky women’s soccer team is already in postseason play. The No. 6-seed Cats take on No. 3-seed and No. 17-ranked Georgia in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET in Pensacola, a match that will be televised live on SEC Network. Kentucky beat No. 11 seed Florida in the first round on Sunday afternoon, the Cats’ first SEC Tournament win since 2014 and the first under head coach Troy Fabiano.

College Basketball on TV today

It’s not quite the opening day marathon that we got on Monday, but there are still plenty of games to watch tonight, four featuring top ten teams. Texas vs. No. 6 Duke in Charlotte is the best of the bunch, tipping off at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN. If you want to scout Kentucky’s future opponents in the BBN United Tipoff Classic (presented by Kentucky Tourism), Eastern Illinois and Valparaiso, they play each other tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Time (ET)	Game	TV/Streaming
6:30 PM	Evansville at No. 1 Purdue	BTN
7:00 PM	Nicholls at No. 9 Kentucky	SECN+
7:00 PM	North Carolina A&T at South Carolina	SECN+
7:00 PM	Alcorn State at Florida State	ACC Extra
7:00 PM	Mount St. Mary’s at West Virginia	ESPN+
7:30 PM	UNC Asheville at Wichita State	ESPN+
8:00 PM	Lindenwood at No. 10 Texas Tech	ESPN+
8:00 PM	Eastern Illinois at Valparaiso	ESPN+
8:00 PM	UNC Greensboro at Kansas State	ESPN+
8:00 PM	Oral Roberts at Oklahoma State	ESPN+
8:45 PM	Texas at No. 6 Duke (Charlotte)	ESPN
9:00 PM	Southern Utah at Arizona State	ESPN+
10:00 PM	Portland State at Stanford	ACC Extra
10:30 PM	Hawai‘i at Oregon	BTN

Here are the Top 25 and SEC scores from last night. No. 13 Arizona took down No. 3 Florida in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas, with freshman Koa Peat scoring 30 for the Wildcats. No. 20 Auburn had to go to overtime to beat Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in Steven Pearl’s debut as head coach. Auburn was a 25.5-point favorite in that one. Elsewhere, St. John’s and Arkansas rolled.

• No. 2 Houston 75, Lehigh 57
• No. 4 UConn 79, New Haven 55
• No. 5 St. John’s 108, Quinnipiac 74
• No. 13 Arizona 93, No. 3 Florida 87
• No. 14 Arkansas 109, Southern 77
• No. 15 Alabama 91, North Dakota 62
• No. 16 Iowa State 88, Fairleigh Dickinson 50
• No. 18 Tennessee 76, Mercer 61
• No. 19 Kansas 94, Green Bay 51
• No. 20 Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90 OT
• No. 22 Michigan State 80, Colgate 69
• No. 25 North Carolina 94, Central Arkansas 54
• Missouri 88, Howard 67
• Georgia 104, Bellarmine 59
• Texas A&M 98, Northwestern State 68
• Vanderbilt 105, Lipscomb 61
• Ole Miss 88, SE Louisiana 58
• Oklahoma 102, Saint Francis 66

First College Football Playoff Rankings released

Tonight, we’ll also get the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Who will make the Top 12? Most agree on a top five of Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama, Texas A&M, and Georgia. From there, it gets a little foggy. Here are the latest projections from On3’s Thomas Goldkamp:

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Alabama
4. Texas A&M
5. Georgia
6. Ole Miss
7. Oregon
8. BYU
9. Texas Tech
10. Notre Dame
11. Texas
12. Oklahoma

That leaves Louisville and Vanderbilt just outside the top 12. Tennessee is well outside after the loss to Oklahoma. Ain’t it a shame? We’ll find out what the committee thinks tonight.

Programming Note

With basketball season finally here, there are some changes to our podcast lineup to pass along. Sources Say will be moving from its usual Tuesday night spot to the night following each game. This week, that will be Wednesday night, which they’ll share with 11 Personnel. Double the YouTube content, double the fun on Hump Day.

I’ll also save you a text to Ryan Lemond. The KSR Pregame Show will start at 4:30 p.m. ET, two and a half hours before tipoff, today on 630 AM WLAP and affiliates across the state. KSR the Show starts one hour from now on those same stations.