Kentucky’s night in Chicago turned ugly fast once Kansas settled in, and the Wildcats never found a way to drag it back. After a sharp opening stretch that put UK ahead 10-5 on perfect shooting, the game quickly flipped. Kansas seized control before halftime, then ripped off a 14-2 burst over the first four minutes of the second half to stretch the margin to 20 and send the United Center crowd into a chorus of boos from frustrated Kentucky fans.
The headliner was Tyran Stokes, who looked every bit like the best player on the floor. He went into takeover mode, hit shots, and even taunted the Kentucky bench - especially Mark Pope - on his way to 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in 32 minutes.
He shot 8-for-19 overall and 4-for-8 from deep. Trey Kaufman-Renn helped set the tone early for Kansas before cooling off, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals on 4-for-5 shooting.
Tre White then took over in the second half, pouring in 23 of his 30 points after the break and shooting 8-for-9 overall.
Kentucky did get a strong night from Zoom Diallo, and without him this would have been a much uglier final margin. The starting point guard scored a team-high 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting and 3-for-4 from three, adding two rebounds and a block in 29 minutes.
After a rough exhibition stretch, Diallo had already started to settle in during the first week of the season against Manhattan and James Madison, and this was the best version of him yet. He was one of the only Wildcats who looked comfortable on the stage.
Malachi Moreno eventually got going, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 8-for-11 shooting, but most of that damage came after the game had already tilted heavily toward Kansas. Milan Momcilovic, meanwhile, never really got loose.
He finished with five points on 2-for-7 shooting and 1-for-3 from three, plus seven rebounds. The bigger issue was how little he was able to impact the game from the perimeter, especially after a first half in which he didn’t get the kind of volume Kentucky had hoped for.
The ball movement told another part of the story. Pope has talked plenty about this roster’s creators and how that group fits his style, but in the first real test of the season, Kentucky managed only 13 assists on 27 made baskets and turned it over 15 times.
Diallo, Alex Wilkins and Mason Williams combined for seven turnovers and just three assists. Kansas, by comparison, had 24 assists and only 10 turnovers, and it did that without starting point guard Melvin Council Jr., who broke his foot on Monday.
The Wildcats also lagged badly in transition, finishing with just six fastbreak points and zero points off turnovers. Kansas had 11 fastbreak points and 22 off turnovers.
Foul trouble made the early stages even messier for Kentucky. Moreno picked up two quick fouls, and Ousmane N’Diaye had three along with a turnover.
That forced Pope into a rotation he clearly didn’t want, with Franck Kepnang logging 10 first-half minutes and Reece Potter getting three, including one possession where he even fired a 3-pointer from the top of the key after grabbing a rebound. Moreno was limited to seven minutes before halftime, and N’Diaye played just four as Kansas built a double-digit lead.
“I didn’t want any of those rotations, but the game kind of demanded it,” Pope said at the podium. “I had (Malachi), who’s sitting on the bench with two fouls, three minutes into the game.
That makes it really complicated. But as we grow, we’ll be able to sustain our effort through super, super strange events in a game.
We just not there yet. We weren’t there yet against a terrific opponent in Kansas, but we’ll get there.”
Braydon Hawthorne was one of the few other bright spots. The redshirt freshman gave Kentucky a lift in the first half, blocking a long jumper, meeting Stokes at the rim multiple times and finishing with three blocks.
He also knocked down a contested fadeaway and a step-through in traffic. Hawthorne ended with four points, three rebounds and three blocks in 13 minutes.
Kentucky left Chicago with a lot to sort through, and the numbers were blunt. No finger-pointing, just facts. Not good enough at Kentucky.
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Zoom Diallo did his part with 24 points, and Malachi Morenos foul trouble only added to Kentuckys problems as the frontcourt rotation thinned out. Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds in the 89-69 loss, leaving Kentucky with another reminder that its margin for error shrinks fast when the ball security and physical defense are not there. [Read more 🡒]
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