Kentucky-LSU Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
PETE MARAVICH ASSEMBLY CENTER | BATON ROUGE, LA
JANUARY 14, 2026
ATTENDANCE: 8,671

Final Score: Kentucky 75, LSU 74

Team Records and Series Notes

Kentucky is 11-6 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
LSU is 12-5 overall, 0-4 in the SEC.
Kentucky leads the series, 94-29, and has won two in a row vs. LSU.
- UK leads 33-20 in games played in Baton Rouge.
- The last game played in Baton Rouge was a 75-74 LSU win in 2024
Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats complete the two-game road swing Saturday at noon at Tennessee. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Team Notes

It wasn’t quite the Mardi Gras Miracle – when Kentucky rallied from a 31-point second-half deficit to win 99-95 on Feb. 15, 1994 – but perhaps it is the Mardi Gras Mini-Miracle as the Wildcats came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to win 75-74.
The 18-point rally matched the largest comeback of the Coach Mark Pope era. The Wildcats trailed by 18 last year vs. Gonzaga before rallying for a 90-89 overtime win in Seattle.
Kentucky won the second half, 53-36, shooting 65.4 percent from the field and 72.7 percent (8 of 11) from 3-point land.
Kentucky led for only one minute, 10 seconds of the game.
Kentucky had fewer turnovers, 12-9, and won points off turnovers 16-11.
Kentucky shot 43.5 percent on 3-pointers, 10 of 23. UK is 5-0 this season when shooting at least 40 percent on long balls, including the last two games.
Kentucky won fast break points, 15-7. UK has won fast break points in every game this season.
It was Kentucky’s second buzzer-beating win in Baton Rouge in the last two weeks. On New Year’s Day, Tonie Morgan of UK’s women’s team swished a 3-pointer for an 80-78 win over LSU.

Player Notes

Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 21 points, his fourth straight 20-point game.
- It is his sixth 20-point game of the season, all coming in the last eight games.
- He has hit the 20 mark in all four SEC games. He is the first Wildcat to tally at least 20 in his first four league games since Jodie Meeks in the first seven league contests of the 2009 campaign.
- Oweh has scored in double figures in all 17 games this season. He has a total streak of 20 games dating back to last season.
- He had two steals, his 12^th straight game with at least one theft; 11 of those 12 games feature at least two steals.
Malachi Moreno hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer, capping his night with 10 points, a game-high eight rebounds and two steals.
- Moreno played the last 8:56 of the game with four fouls.
- It is Moreno’s seventh double-figure scoring game of the season.
After going scoreless in the first half, Denzel Aberdeen warmed to the task in the second half with 17 points in the second stanza. He led the Wildcats in assists with four.
Making his first start at UK, Andrija Jelavic tied his season high with 11 points, his third double-figure game as a Wildcat.
Jayden Quaintance missed his second straight game while dealing with his knee recovery.

In the First Half

Kentucky started the combination of Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Kam Williams, Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno for the first time.
UK’s first substitutions were Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison and Mouhamed Dioubate at 14:48.
Leading 6-3, LSU went on a 12-0 run for an 18-3 lead.
LSU went to halftime with a 38-22 advantage, their largest lead of the half.
- Oweh and Andrija Jelavic led UK with six points each.
- UK is now 3-6 this season when trailing at halftime with comebacks of 7 (Indiana), 7 (St. John’s) and 16 (LSU).

In the Second Half

Kentucky opened with the starters.
LSU began the half with a pair of free throws, giving the Tigers their largest lead at 40-22.
A 9-0 Kentucky run cut the gap to 42-34.
An 8-0 UK spurt brought the Wildcats within 65-64, coaxing an LSU timeout at 5:04.
Kentucky took its first lead, 69-68, on a steal and breakaway dunk by Williams at 3:55.
Tied at 72, Oweh hit a jumper with 42.8 remaining but was waved off because of a shot clock violation.
With 17.4 seconds left, LSU’s Max Mackinnon hit a pair of free throws to make it 74-72.
With 4.5 seconds left, Oweh was fouled. He made the first but missed the second.
LSU’s Pablo Tomba was fouled but missed both free throws and UK called timeout with 1.6 seconds left.
Chandler launched a pass from UK’s defensive baseline. Moreno outleaped an LSU defender, catching the ball just outside the free throw line, turned and swished a 16-foot jumper at the buzzer for the game-winner.
Other than the last second, when Williams fouled out, UK played the last 8:56 with the same lineup – Aberdeen, Chandler, Oweh, Williams and Moreno.

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