Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Nicholls
After a pair of exhibition games, Kentucky tips off the regular season on Tuesday night, facing Nicholls at Rupp Arena (7 p.m., SEC Network Plus).
Kentucky beat top-ranked Purdue 78-65 in the exhibition opener. However, UK lost to Georgetown University 84-70 in the second exhibition contest.
UK forward Brandon Garrison is back for another season opener with the Cats and he and his teammates are ready to get started.
“I feel like it’s the same, just very excited. I’m just ready to get out there and get this first one. It’s a season opener, so (the team is) more locked in just knowing that the season is finally here.”
Garrison said that the Cats watched the Georgetown tape and learned from it.
“Just knowing that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” Garrison said. “Just teaching the guys that we get everybody’s best shots.”
One of the areas where the Cats hope to improve is on the defensive end. Garrison said that has been a point of emphasis since the Georgetown game.
“We just have to buy in on defense,” Garrison said. “We came in the next day (after the Georgetown game) and we were working on that and made big steps. I feel like we’re going to show (improvement) tomorrow night.”
Nicholls was 20-13 last season, but the Colonels have only three players returning from that team. Garrison said that the Cats have seen Nicholls on film and he knows they will pose a challenge.
“Just a physical team,” Garrison said. “Everybody on the team can really shoot, they have athletes. They’re going to come out hungry.”
Kentucky is 101-21 all time in season openers and is 106-16 in home openers. The Cats hope to add to those numbers on Tuesday night in the 2025-26 season opener against Nicholls.
Kentucky in Season Openers
Now in its 124th season of college basketball, Kentucky is 101-21 all-time in season openers entering the 2025-26 season (the Wildcats did not have a schedule in 1952-53 due to NCAA suspension). Included in Kentucky’s 101-21 all-time season-opening record was a 34-game winning streak from the 1927-28 season to the 1961-62 season.
• Kentucky is 106-16 all-time in home openers
• UK is 45-4 in the first game played in Rupp Arena for the season
• Mark Pope is 1-0 in season openers as UK’s head coach
• Pope coached UK to a season-opening win by a 103-62 win, a 41-point margin a season ago. The 103 points were the most for a Kentucky coach in a debut game. The previous high was 88 points vs. Morehead State in Tubby Smith’s first game in 1997
Takeaways from the Tune-Ups
Kentucky utilized 10 players who appeared for at least 15 minutes of action — and all 10 scored in a 78-65 win over Purdue, the No. 1 team in the country heading into the 2025-26 season.
Freshman Jasper Johnson paced the team in scoring at 15 points. Eight players scored at least six points in the contest for the Cats.
Defense also played a part for the Cats, with Purdue limited to just 38.6% shooting, including 17.6% from distance. UK also won the boards by a 42-30 margin.
In Kentucky’s 84-70 loss to Georgetown, Otega Oweh had 17 points and Mo Dioubate added 13 and seven boards. The Hoyas managed 55.4% from the field and forced the Cats into 15 turnovers.
Kentucky shot just 33.3% from the field and 65.7% from the charity stripe. After seven players making a 3-pointer in the opening frame, the Cats could not connect from distance in the second half.
UK did outrebound the Hoyas by a 38-30 margin, including snaring 16 on the offensive end.
