Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Gonzaga
Kentucky has played three nationally-ranked opponents already this season, and the Cats take on a fourth such opponent on Friday night, facing No. 11 Gonzaga at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Cats dropped a heartbreaker to North Carolina on Tuesday night, falling 67-64 at Rupp Arena, slipping to 5-3 on the season. UK head coach Mark Pope never likes to lose, but he’s hoping that his team can learn from its shortcomings early in the season to blossom into a great team in March.
“I don’t wish this on us,” Pope said. “I wish this was not the case because I’m soft and I like things always to be perfect, but this team has a chance to grow into a great team. We’re not right now. We’re not, but we have a chance to grow and some of the hardships that we’re going through are going to make us great because we’re great authors and that’s what we do.”
Pope knows that dealing with adversity and ultimately overcoming it is part of what almost all great teams have to do.
“I talk about this all the time and the reason is because it’s true. It’s just a process,” Pope said. “Unfortunately, sometimes, it’s really painful. We’ve really got to grow.”
Kentucky has five players averaging double digits in scoring through eight games. Denzel Aberdeen leads the Cats at 13.5 points per game, while Otega Oweh is up to 13.4 points per outing. Collin Chandler is scoring 11.8 points per game, while Mo Dioubate (11.6 ppg) and Malachi Moreno (10.3 ppg) round out the double-figure scorers for the Cats. Moreno leads the team, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
Gonzaga is 7-1 this season, having beaten the likes of Alabama, Creighton and Oklahoma. Braden Huff is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 15.8 points per game. Graham Ike averages 15.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 per contest.
Pope knows that Gonzaga is a very talented team.
“They’re good. They’re physical,” Pope said. “In back-to-back games, their leading scorers are their starting four (power forward) and five (center). They’re really dangerous. I’ve known (Gonzaga head coach Mark Few) well. I’ve been battling him for, it seems like 100 years. If he’s not the best in the business, he’s one of them.”
The Cats will continue to go through their process and grow while facing yet another ranked opponent on Friday night.
Gonzaga at a Glance
Kentucky plays Gonzaga for the fourth-consecutive season, this time in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena.
• UK is 2-2 vs. the Bulldogs all-time. This year’s meeting is the fourth of a six-year series. The teams are slated to meet at Rupp Arena in 2026 and McCarthey Athletic Center in 2027
• Facing the Zags in Seattle last season, Kentucky matched the largest halftime deficit overcome in school history, coming from 16 points down at the break to win in overtime, 90-89
• Gonzaga is 7-1 on the season and has been idle since a 101-61 loss to Michigan on Nov. 26. The Bulldogs have top-25 wins over No. 23 Creighton and No. 8 Alabama
• Braden Huff and Graham Ike lead Gonzaga in the scoring department, averaging 15.8 ppg and 15.0 ppg, respectively
• Gonzaga is averaging 44.63 rebounds per game, ranking top 10 in the country
Notable Achievements Thus Far
Kentucky is off to a 5-3 start to the season and have achieved a few notable achievements:
• The 50-point margin of victory over Tennessee Tech is largest for UK under head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has four wins this season with at least 40-point margins, the quickest into a season in UK history (seven games) with four such games.
• Kentucky did not allow a member of Loyola (Md.) to score more than seven points in the win over the Greyhounds. It was the first time a UK defense prevented a scorer of more than seven points since Nov. 23, 2014 vs. Montana State
• UK has had three games already with nine players scoring at least six points. That only happened three other times between 2004-05 and 2024-25
• Kentucky limited each of its first two opponents of the season to 59 points or fewer for the first time since 2014-15
• The Cats have at least one win by 48 or more points in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011-12 and 2012-13
• Kentucky limited Nicholls to just 15 points in the opening half, it was the lowest points yielded in the first half in Rupp Arena by the Cats since EKU scored 14 on Dec. 7, 2014
Last Time Out
Kentucky fell, 67-64, to North Carolina on Tuesday night inside Rupp Arena.
• The game featured 14 lead changes and nine ties
• The Wildcats led for 25:05 of game time
• All nine Cats who played, scored
• Kentucky made just one 3-point shot on the night
• Otega Oweh matched his season high with 16 points. He has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and 41 of 44 games overall at Kentucky
• Denzel Aberdeen totaled 10 points and has also scored in double digits in all eight games this season
• Malachi Moreno led UK with nine rebounds, also scoring eight points and blocking three shots
• Four players (Aberdeen, Chandler, Jelavic, Moreno) played a career high in minutes
