No. 9 Kentucky vs. No. 16 LSU (SECT): Preview, Odds & How to Watch

It’s officially time for postseason basketball, folks, as the Kentucky Wildcats are set to begin their SEC Tournament journey in Nashville against the LSU Tigers on Wednesday to open the event. We all remember Malachi Moreno‘s game-winner in Baton Rouge, but we also can’t forget the 18-point deficit that forced the miracle attempt for the blue and white in enemy territory.

Can they play like second-half UK against LSU and steamroll the No. 16 seed the way this team should? Will the Cats advance to set up the rematch opportunity against Missouri on Thursday? KSR has everything you need to know about the battle between Mark Pope and Matt McMahon.

Kentucky vs. LSU: How to Watch, Listen

• Tipoff: Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. ET
• TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, Jon Crispin)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 84

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

Want more Kentucky basketball intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Season Rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 27

• 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. No. 17 Michigan State
• 11/21: 88-46 W vs. Loyola (Md.)
• 11/26: 104-54 W vs. Tennessee Tech
• 12/2: 67-64 L vs. No. 16 North Carolina
• 12/5: 94-59 L vs. No. 11 Gonzaga
• 12/9: 103-67 W vs. NC Central
• 12/13: 72-60 W vs. Indiana
• 12/20: 78-66 W vs. No. 22 St. John’s
• 12/23: 99-85 W vs. Bellarmine
• 1/3: 89-74 L at No. 14 Alabama
• 1/7: 73-68 L vs. Missouri
• 1/10: 92-68 W vs. Mississippi State
• 1/14: 75-74 W at LSU
• 1/17: 80-78 W at No. 24 Tennessee
• 1/21: 85-80 W vs. Texas
• 1/24: 72-63 W vs. Ole Miss
• 1/27: 80-55 L at No. 18 Vanderbilt
• 1/31: 85-77 W at No. 15 Arkansas
• 2/4: 94-78 W vs. Oklahoma
• 2/7: 74-71 W vs. No. 25 Tennessee
• 2/14: 92-83 L at No. 14 Florida
• 2/17: 86-78 L vs. Georgia
• 2/21: 75-74 L at Auburn
• 2/24: 72-63 W at South Carolina
• 2/28: 91-77 W vs. No. 25 Vanderbilt
• 3/3: 96-85 L at Texas A&M
• 3/7: 84-77 L vs. No. 5 Florida

LSU: KenPom 63

• 11/5: 96–60 W vs. Tarleton St.
• 11/10: 93–58 W vs. New Orleans
• 11/13: 98–81 W vs. FIU
• 11/18: 107–81 W vs. Alcorn St.
• 11/21: 99–73 W vs. Nebraska Omaha
• 11/28: 71–62 W vs. Drake
• 11/29: 96–63 W vs. DePaul
• 12/3: 78–69 W (OT) at Boston College
• 12/7: 82–58 L vs. Texas Tech
• 12/13: 89–77 W vs. SMU
• 12/19: 78–65 W vs. Southeastern Louisiana
• 12/22: 104–90 W vs. Prairie View A&M
• 12/29: 90–62 W vs. Southern Miss
• 1/3: 75–72 L at Texas A&M
• 1/6: 78–68 L vs. South Carolina
• 1/10: 84–73 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/14: 75–74 L vs. Kentucky
• 1/17: 78–70 W vs. Missouri
• 1/20: 79–61 L at Florida
• 1/24: 85–81 L at Arkansas
• 1/28: 80–66 L vs. Mississippi St.
• 1/31: 92–87 W (OT) at South Carolina
• 2/7: 83–71 L vs. Georgia
• 2/10: 91–62 L vs. Arkansas
• 2/14: 73–63 L at Tennessee
• 2/17: 88–85 L at Texas
• 2/21: 90–83 L vs. Alabama
• 2/25: 106–99 W (2OT) at Mississippi
• 2/28: 83–67 L vs. Oklahoma
• 3/3: 88–74 L at Auburn
• 3/7: 94–91 L (3OT) vs. Texas A&M

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 94-29, with the Wildcats entering the matchup on a two-game winning streak.

Mark Pope went 1-0 against the Tigers in his debut season, winning 95-64 in Lexington a year ago, then followed it up with a victory in Baton Rouge earlier this season. That was an 18-point comeback, finished off by Malachi Moreno with a game-winning buzzer-beater to earn the 75-74 victory.

Matt McMahon is 1-3 against the Wildcats entering tonight’s matchup.

Kentucky vs. LSU Odds

The Wildcats have opened as 7.5-point favorites, according to our friends at BetMGM, with the over/under set at 152.5 and Kentucky’s point total sitting at 80 compared to 72.5 for LSU

As for the computers, KenPom is going with the Cats, giving Kentucky a 69 percent chance to pull off the win with a projected score of 79-74 while Bart Torvik puts it at 70 percent with 79-74 as the final score. ESPN Analytics likes the blue and white, giving them a 75.1 percent chance to survive and advance.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#1 – Denzel Aberdeen
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.5 APG

#5 – Collin Chandler
6-5 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
10.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.2 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – SENIOR
18.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG

#4 – Andrija Jelavic
6-11 – 225 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.7 APG

#24 – Malachi Moreno
7-0 – 250 – CENTER – FRESHMAN
8.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.8 APG

LSU Potential Starters

#2 – Jalen Reece
6-0 – 185 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
5.6 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.7 RPG

#3 – Max Mackinnon
6-6 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
15.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.5 APG

#10 – Marquel Sutton
6-9 – 225 – FORWARD – FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR
13.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG

#8 – Pablo Tamba
6-7 – 206 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
8.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG

#1 – Mike Nwoko
6-10 – 261 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
13.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Otega Oweh enters the SEC Tournament having scored in double figures in 30 of 31 regular season games and posted 20-plus points in 14 of 18 SEC contests. He finished the regular season with the most 20-point games of any player in the conference and is up to 1,148 points during his UK career. He just needs eight more points to pass Antonio Reeves for the second-most points by a transfer at Kentucky all-time and the third most by a Wildcat during their first two years with the program.
• Kentucky has won 31 SEC Tournament Championships all-time — 23 more than Alabama, who has the second most SEC Tournament titles with eight. UK’s last title came in 2018 with a 136-31 record in the event all-time. The Cats are 16-2 against LSU in the SEC Tournament all-time.
• The Wildcats garnered two All-SEC selections from the conference this past week as Oweh was picked to the second team and Malachi Moreno landed on the All-Freshman Team.
• Denzel Aberdeen is enjoying the best season of his career with career-bests of 12.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. He is also shooting career-high marks from the field (41.1%) and 3-point range (35.7%). Over his last six games, Aberdeen has 28 assists to just six turnovers. In league play, he boasts a 3.1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Pregame Storylines

A WEDNESDAY START IN NASHVILLE

Kentucky opens the SEC Tournament not just on Wednesday, but the first game on Wednesday, earning the No. 9 seed after potentially finishing as high as No. 4 on the final day of the regular season. It was a brutal turn of events that forces the Wildcats to tip off the event at 11:30 a.m. CT against No. 16 LSU — a team that has lost 11 of its last 13 with its only two wins coming at South Carolina and Ole Miss in that stretch as Quad 2s. The Tigers’ lone Quad 1 on the year is an 89-77 win over SMU back on December 13. They’re coming off a triple OT home loss to Texas A&M to really put a bow on a tough, demoralizing regular season for the Tigers.

Matt McMahon is likely out at season’s end, and as tough as that is for the former Murray State coach, Kentucky can be the ones to do it with a statement victory in Nashville. On the flip side, a loss for the Wildcats could open the door to some really uncomfortable conversations about Mark Pope and this program’s future, barring a miracle run in the NCAA Tournament.

Gotta win this one — and preferably by a lot. It’s in a city that hasn’t been kind to the Cats as of late with Kentucky losing by a combined 64 points in its last two games at Bridgestone Arena and 89 points in its last three games in Nashville.

THE MALACHI MIRACLE

There are two angles to focus on when it comes to Kentucky’s first trip to Baton Rouge on January 14, the Wildcats leaving with a 75-74 victory in the midst of a five-game winning streak. On one hand, the Tigers pushed ahead by 18 points coming out of halftime as Pope’s group looked discombobulated with shooting splits of 27/17/50 to get started. They trailed by double digits just seven minutes in and scored one field goal in the first 10 minutes.

Then the Cats responded with a 53-34 run to not only get back in the conversation, but put themselves in a position to win the game. Down 74-73 with 1.6 seconds left and the full length of the floor to go, Collin Chandler heaved it down to the opposite end, caught by Moreno over an outstretched defender at the free throw line. He turns around and lifts up from 17 feet with no hesitation, nothing but net at the buzzer to earn the 75-74 win.

KENTUCKY TAKES DOWN LSU AT THE BUZZER 🚨@KentuckyMBB | #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/OvQzbmvXuh

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 15, 2026

Hopefully the Wildcats don’t need similar magic at Bridgestone Arena, but it’s fair to say that moment in Baton Rouge was one of the top highlights of the season.

DEDAN THOMAS IS OUT FOR THE YEAR

LSU’s star guard suffered a lower left leg injury prior to the team’s game at Texas A&M on January 3 and missed five games before returning against Florida on Jan. 20. He was sidelined once again for the South Carolina game on Jan. 31 and then underwent season-ending surgery on his left foot on February 18.

He finishes the season averaging 15.3 points, 6.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and just 1.6 turnovers per contest in 29.4 minutes across 16 games. In his absence, freshman Jalen Reece has taken over as PG1 and thrived, averaging 7.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game since the start of conference play. He’s scored in double figures in six of his last seven gamesfor the Tigers.

SLOWING DOWN MAX MACKINNON

He’s averaging 15.3 points per game on the year overall, but with Thomas out for the year, Mackinnon has been the go-to star for LSU, averaging 17.0 points, 2.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds per contest since the start of SEC play. He finished in double figures in 14 of 17 conference matchups with six 20-point efforts and a 34-points day against the Ole Miss Rebels on Feb. 25.

On the year, he’s shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 37.8 percent from three and 89.0 percent at the line with 65 made 3-pointers on the year.

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 while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

---

Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction immediately after the game, live 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.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.