KSR Today: Kentucky Wins with a Malachi Miracle at LSU
You never know when you’ll witness an unforgettable Kentucky basketball moment. That happened in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, again.
For one half, Kentucky played about as poorly as possible. The Wildcats had one made field goal in 11 minutes. LSU led 18-3, but it wasn’t the worst deficit of the night. They fell behind by as many as 18 in the second half. Hope was in short supply around Big Blue Nation, but there’s something about Baton Rouge that creates magic.
Denzel Aberdeen provided the spark, scoring 13 points out of the halftime locker room to cut the deficit to six. Game on. Kentucky kept up the intensity and stacked up stops. Kam Williams capped off 13-3 run with a transition slam, giving the Cats their first lead of the game with 3:55 remaining. Then, it was time to sweat.
We thought Otega Oweh‘s 16-footer gave Kentucky a two-point lead in the final minute, but it was ruled a shot-clock violation on replay. A questionable foul was called on the other end, giving LSU two freebies from the charity stripe. Oweh had a chance to equalize it with a pair of free throws, but short-armed the second one. Kentucky quickly fouled, yet hope was in short supply.
That’s when LSU got tight. They missed both free throws, leaving just 1.6 seconds left on the clock. Kentucky did not panic. Collin Chandler threw a perfect pass to set up Malachi Moreno‘s game-winner.
The Story Behind the Malachi Miracle
Kentucky has practiced this situation before. Kam Williams was the inbounder in that situation, but the forward committed his fifth foul with less than two seconds on the clock. Collin Chandler stepped up and asked to have the ball in his hands.
“The last play was not drawn for me,” Moreno recalled. “It was for Otega to get a shot at the middle of the court, or for [Denzel Aberdeen] to at least get it on the run, to get one bounce and to get a shot off, and then Collin overthrew it, and then I just — I mean, to LSU, I became Odell Beckham, and I made the shot.”
The other crazy part in all of this? Moreno picked up his fourth foul with 17:54 on the clock. He played foul-free for the final nine minutes, giving the Kentucky native a chance to channel his inner Odell.
Not the First Kentucky Buzzer-Beater vs. LSU
Wednesday night’s moment was deja vu for so many Kentucky basketball fans. Naturally, many college basketball fans drew comparisons to Christian Laettner. For folks who monitor the Cats more closely, the 18-point comeback brought back memories of the Mardi Gras Miracle.
You don’t need to go back to 1994 to find a Kentucky buzzer-beater against LSU. On the first day of the New Year, Tonie Morgan stepped back and drilled a game-winner over the unbeaten fifth-ranked Tigers.
All-Time Reaction
There were plenty of great celebration videos shared around social media. Mario Maitland captured the surreal scene at KSBar, Rick Pitino felt obligated to chime in, but the best of the best came from our own Steven Peake. His grandfather spent years taking handwritten stats in notebooks for every game. He was ready to stop the ritual, but Peake talked him into taking stats for one more game. They picked a good win, and it created a radical reaction that only the Peakes could produce. What a moment.
Top 10
- 1Trending
Florida 92, UK 83
Cats' comeback falls short
- 2New
SEC Tourney Projection
A logjam behind Florida.
- 3Hot
Takeaways
from UK's loss at Fllorida
- 4
5 Reasons for the loss
Missed layups and turnovers are up there
- 5Breaking
Top 25 W
for Kentucky WBB over Ole Miss.
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[READ: One Last Game — My Grandfather, His Stat Books, and a Kentucky Miracle]
More from the Kentucky Win
Moreno has been practicing Kentucky Game-Winners since he was a Kid
Malachi Moreno’s Mom was still on Cloud 11 when she joined the KSR Postgame Show
Takeaways from Another Mardi Gras Miracle
How Kentucky Overcame the 18-Point Deficit to Win at the Buzzer
Pope, Aberdeen, Moreno Recap the Win
Otega Oweh Shook Off Illness in ANOTHER 20-Point Performance
Aberdeen’s Second Half Saved Kentucky
Comeback Gives Pope Faith During Incredibly Emotionally Taxing Season
Another SEC Buzzer-Beater
Kentucky wasn’t the only team that escaped a road trip with a win at the buzzer. Unlike Kentucky-LSU, Ole Miss-Georgia was a nip-and-tuck, back-and-forth affair all night until the very end. AJ Storr‘s game-winning attempt in overtime fell short, but Patton Pinkins was there for the unorthodox follow-up that fell through the net as time expired.
Stein Hosting Transfer Portal Visitors
The transfer portal slowed down for a few days as the AFCA Coaches Convention put visits on hold for a three-day dead period. That ended last night at midnight, giving Kentucky two days to host visitors before the Friday drop/add deadline at UK. We know of at least three players who are expected to be on campus.
Nic Anderson — This time a year ago, the wide receiver was one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal. After one season at LSU, he’s looking for one final pitstop. Anderson has dealt with injuries throughout his tenure, but was sensational for Oklahoma in 2023, recording 38 receptions for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Shane Carr — Over his first two years at the FCS level, he led Southern Utah in receiving. The 6-foot-2 pass-catcher has 81 receptions for 1,371 yards and 10 touchdowns on his resume.
Logan Goodwin — An EDGE from the Division-II level, he had 38 tackles, 13 TFLs, and 7.0 sacks at Indiana University of Pennsylvania last fall. He previously visited Pitt.
We also saw one more Kentucky Wildcat enter the transfer portal on Wednesday night. Evan Wibberley, a Dixie Heights product, was recruited to be the Cats’ starting center, but spent 2025 behind Jager Burton. After UK brought in Coleton Price, Wibberley is seeking greener pastures as the 21st Wildcat to enter the transfer portal this offseason.
Kentucky WBB at Home
The last time we saw Kenny Brooks’ team in action, the Wildcats took down the fifth-ranked team in the country at Historic Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky is back at home on Thursday night for a duel against the Gators. Florida is winless in four SEC games. The Cats will try to keep it that way when they tip things off at 7 PM ET on SECN+.
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