Mark Pope says the game was 'begging' Kentucky to run offense through Malachi Moreno vs. MSU

During Saturday’s 24-point win over Mississippi State, Kentucky’s offense looked more like the team we saw last season than what we’d seen through most of the 2025-26 season.

The Wildcats continued to thrive in transition, which is what’s kept the offense afloat early on, but the half-court efficiency was also much-improved. According to CBB Analytics, coming into the matchup with MSU, Kentucky was shooting just 34.6 percent from the field in half-court settings against quality opponents — a bottom-tier number that ranked among the lowest in all of Division I hoops. Against the Bulldogs? That number rose to 46 percent, a complete 180 compared to the previous eight games against quality competition.

When watching the film, it didn’t take long to understand why, either. Head coach Mark Pope went back to his bread-and-butter: more cuts, more zoom actions, more passing, more rhythm. It resulted in 92 points with 21 assists to just nine turnovers. UK shot 9-22 from deep, it’s best since going 12-34 against Louisville.

And leading the way was seven-foot freshman Malachi Moreno.

“He was impressive. What a game he put together. It was really impressive,” Pope said of Moreno on Monday. “I think Malachi actually was begging us to play more through him just based on his early play. We were stuck. We were not functioning well on the offensive end to begin that game, and Malachi just saved us on the offensive glass. He’s like ‘Don’t worry guys, I’m just going to handle this and I’ll go get us second opportunities.'”

Kentucky once again fell into an early hole against Mississippi State. It was a double-digit deficit midway through the opening half. The Bulldogs were hitting tough shots. But Moreno and Co. eventually settled into a groove. The big man from Georgetown was helping run the offense from the top of the key and in the post.

If Moreno wasn’t initiating zoom actions or finding cutters, he was putting himself in position to attack the paint and the glass. Pope noticed that MSU was crashing “quicker than they normally have” at times when Moreno received the ball, but the rookie remained calm and made plays.

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Kentucky's timing on these post entry sets was SO MUCH better than Wednesday!

Mississippi State was doubling the post on the catch and Malachi Moreno made them pay.

He obviously doesn't get the assist credit here, but his kick out led to Collin Chandler's 3. pic.twitter.com/PsbRQIE6hh
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) January 12, 2026

All of that resulted in a record-breaking night for Moreno: 17 points, eight rebounds (six offensive!), six assists, and four steals with just one turnover in 28 minutes — his most playing time since seeing 31 minutes in the loss to North Carolina on Dec. 2. He also shot 8-10 from the floor, posting a +19 in the box score, second-highest among his teammates.

It wasn’t just the offensive end of the floor where Moreno was a focus, though. Behind an excellent defensive game plan from assistant coach Mikhail McLean, the ‘Cats were able to keep MSU and the SEC’s leading scorer, Josh Hubbard, in check. Moreno was hard-hedging on Bulldog ballscreens while his teammates stayed home on shooters. Mississippi State finished with just 68 points and only 20 three-point attempts, both numbers tied for their second-fewest of the season.

“And then he was so aggressive on the defensive end, especially with his ball screen coverages,” Pope added. “You could tell that he was really there. When you see a player out on the floor that engaged and that focused on the game, it’s like ‘Okay, let’s go.’ He’s inspiring confidence in everybody on our team, so let’s milk it. I thought he was really impressive.”

Malachi Moreno's stat line from Saturday night has received a ton of praise and rightfully so. However, his impact goes well beyond the box score.

Moreno set the tone for Kentucky defensively with the way he consistently got out to hard hedge the ballscreens.

Forced a TO here! pic.twitter.com/iBFtZuFCsn
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) January 12, 2026

Considering the circumstances, this was Moreno’s best game yet as a Wildcat. He was locked in from the opening tip after being moved back into the starting lineup with Jayden Quaintance on the mend. Pope even recalled a moment when Moreno was coaching up a teammate after said teammate forgot to complete a cut at the end of an action.

“He was really, really dialed in and engaged,” Pope said.