Drew BrownThu, January 15, 2026 at 2:28 AM UTC·6 min readKentucky Basketball traveled to Baton Rouge looking to carry over some much-needed momentum after a blowout win against Mississippi State on Saturday night.
Unfortunately, the idea of the Cats turning any type of figurative corner quickly disappeared. If you sat down on Wednesday night, excited to watch some quality SEC hoops, you most certainly didn’t like what you saw on your TV. It was painful to watch basketball as Mark Pope had no answers for how to manufacture any form of offensive attack.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt took Kentucky over 12 minutes to put double-figures on the scoreboard, and they’d limp into the locker room down 16 points. Ouch.
The second half was a completely different story.
After getting down as many as 18 points, Kentucky would storm out to a lead with under three minutes to play. Despite the lopsided first-half score, the game miraculously came down to the last possession.
It was about as unscripted as it gets with Malachi Moreno hitting a game-winning jump shot as time expired in Christian Laettner fashion, catching a full-court pass with 1.6 seconds left and hitting a game-winning jumper to save Kentucky’s season and give the Wildcats their biggest comeback (18 points) under Mark Pope.
Could this be “the” moment that turns things around?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLet’s all lay our heads on the pillow hoping so.
A colossal comeback ends in elation.There couldn’t have been many people out there who predicted Kentucky to claw its way back to leading the game after being down as many as 18 points in the second half. But on the back of Otega Oweh, that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge.
A game that seemed like it was already over ended in the most unlikely of circumstances, with Malachi Moreno draining a jumper as time expired, making the Cats 75-74 winners. What a wacky, memorable Kentucky game that nobody saw coming.
Andrija Jelavic plays well in starting lineupAfter not seeing the floor in UK’s first two conference games, Mark Pope trusted Andrija Jelavic to play 15+ minutes against Mississippi State and LSU.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn fact, Pope had so much faith in his ability that he inserted Jelavic into the starting lineup on Wednesday night. The decision proved to be a solid one, as the first-year Cat had one of his best college performances to date.
With each passing minute, you can see Jelavic becoming more reactive as his confidence grows. His continued development will be something to monitor as Mark Pope continues to search for answers heading into the spring.
If Jelly can keep having outings like he did in this one, it will go a long way in deciding just what kind of Kentucky team we’ll see in March.
The Cats get down big (again) thanks to poor offenseKentucky has been down 10+ points in an unsettling number of games in the short span of the Mark Pope era. Tonight in Baton Rouge, the Tigers’ lead ballooned up to as many as 18-points. It’s become far too common to feel like a knockout punch has been delivered before the first half is even over.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWho knows if it’s the game plan or guys just not making plays, but you can’t be a serious team when you get down 10, 15, and even 20 points with regularity. If a wound never gets opened in the first place then you don’t have to scramble to stop the bleeding.
The first half of Kentucky’s game in Baton Rouge was a frustrating reminder of just how offensively challenged this Mark Pope team is. UK only managed one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the game. It’s one thing to fall short on the scoreboard, but it becomes a disaster situation when it becomes a chore to watch the product on the floor.
Whether you blame roster construction, execution, or talent, this team is capable of stringing together some of the worst stretches of basketball imaginable. The harsh reality is that none of this is getting fixed overnight, and the only option is to grind out SEC play in preparation for a March run.
Kentucky showed in the second half that they have the pieces needed to make this thing work. When Otega Oweh is putting pressure on the defense, it can offer other players chances to make plays for themselves.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIdeally, the final product will look more polished and have some form of an offensive identity. If the Cats could consistently look like the team we saw in the second half, then things could be interesting.
Thankfully, it didn’t cost them tonight, but that’s largely due to the fact that LSU was playing without its best player in point guard Dedan Thomas.
Season saved…for nowLet’s be honest. If Kentucky loses this game and falls to 10-7, it’s hard to see this season ending with an NCAA Tournament berth. LSU is a decent team when healthy, but without Dedan Thomas, they’re probably one of the bottom 3-5 teams in the SEC.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCan’t lose to those teams if you wanna make the Big Dance while already sporting six defeats.
Thankfully, Moreno saved the season for the time being, but given how close this team already is to the bubble — they’re one of the last teams getting a bye in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology — these are the kind of games they can ill-afford to lose.
A trip to Knoxville loomsTraveling to Thompson-Boling Arena is never an easy task, but for this Kentucky team, it could have the makings of a complete disaster. Rick Barnes coached teams that always play a tough brand of basketball and have the athletes to impose their will. The #24 Vols are 12-5 on the season and will be coming off an 87-82 double-OT victory over Texas A&M, making them 2-2 in conference play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLed by Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament, UT averages 82 points per game. Letting these two scorers get hot early in front of their home-crowd will be a recipe for disaster. We all know how difficult it can be for this team to score points, so digging themselves a hole on the road would likely result in a big fat loss.
If the Cats are to have any chance at the upset, they’ll have to be locked in for the first eight minutes of the game.
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