Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Valparaiso
After winning its 2025-26 season opener against Nicholls on Tuesday, No. 9 Kentucky returns to action on Friday, hosting Valparaiso inside Rupp Arena (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network Plus).
Collin Chandler was the talk of Tuesday’s game for multiple reasons. First, he led Kentucky in scoring with 15 points. But he also made the play of the game, racing in from the wing for a one-handed tomahawk dunk over a Nicholls defender.
On Thursday, UK head coach Mark Pope talked about how much pride he took in Chandler’s performance on Tuesday.
“I was really proud of him. I called him a couple of hours after the game and asked him what his experience was. He told me that he went 0 for 3 from the three-point line to start and he made a couple of decisions that he would love to have back.”
Chandler came out of the game and made a conscious decision about what he would do when he re-entered the contest.
“He sat there a little longer than he was hoping to sit there, which happens,” Pope said. “He told me ‘when I go back in, I’m just going to make the simple play’. As a second-year guy, he understands it because you can sit there and be mad and angry and frustrated and sad and blame and excuse and all this stuff. But he was like nope, this is what I’ve got so where’s my control in this thing. I’m going to focus right now that when I get back in the game, I’m going to make the simple play.”
How did that plan work out for Chandler?
“The simple play was to go four for four from the three-point line and have maybe the highlight dunk of the year,” Pope said. “That’s the simple play. That’s where the simple play leads you.”
Now, the Cats turn their attention to Valparaiso, Friday night’s opponent. Pope has been impressed with what he has seen from Valpo on film.
“They’re a good team,” Pope said. “They really try to hurt you in transition. They’re so aggressive on the offensive glass. They have some physicality to them.”
For Chandler, Pope and the Cats, making the simple play worked out well on Tuesday. The UK head coach hopes to see more of the same on Friday.
Notes from Tuesday’s Victory …
• This was the first time Kentucky and Nicholls met in men’s basketball
• Kentucky held Nicholls to 51 points, lowest of any opponent in the Mark Pope era
• UK is now 13-0 under Pope when holding the opponent under 70 points
• Sparked by four 3-pointers, Collin Chandler led all scorers with a career-high 15 points and tied his career best for assists with four
• Denzel Aberdeen scored 10 points and notched a career-high six assists
• Three Wildcats played their first collegiate games: Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno
• Mo Dioubate had seven points, seven rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists
• Pope has won eight season openers in a row, including his final season at Utah Valley, all five openers at BYU, and now two at Kentucky
Series vs. Valpo History
Kentucky and Valpo have met on the hardwood twice in the series’ history. UK owns wins in both matchups. Friday’s meeting marks the second ever matchup inside of Rupp Arena and the first since the 2016-17 season.
• The Wildcats earned a 83-68 win over the Beacons in the opening round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament in the first-ever matchup. Keith Bogans poured in a team-high 21 points and added six rebounds in the win. Tayshaun Prince added 13 points, five rebounds and a steal. Valpo’s Raitis Grafs scored 21 points and had eight rebounds for Homer Drew’s unranked squad
• Kentucky then claimed an 87-63 win in Rupp on Dec. 7, 2016. Bam Adebayo had 16 points and seven rebounds, while De’Aaron Fox chipped in with nine points, seven boards and five assists in the win for the Cats. Alec Peters scored 23 points and had eight rebounds for the Beacons
