< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. 12 n @KentuckyMBBMichigan State at a Glance Michigan State will mark the second AP- ranked opponent for the Cats this season. • The Spartans are 3-0, including a win over SEC foe Arkansas • Senior Jaxon Kohler is the leading scorer at 14.3 points per game and is also averaging 13.3 rebounds per contest, the third most in the nation • Jeremy Fears Jr. is leading the country with 9.3 assists per game • Tom Izzo is in his 31st year as head coach at MSU and won the national cham- pionship in 2000 with the Spartans • Kentucky is 14-12 all-time against the Spartans • Each of the last four meetings in the series has come in the Champions Classic • The highest-scoring game in the se- ries was a 94-88 win by Michigan State in a two-overtime outing in the Elite Eight in 2005 • Kentucky's Jim Andrews and Michi- gan State's Mike Robinson both scored 32 points in the Dec. 13, 1971 meeting. They both own the scoring record for either team in the series The Champions Classic Kentucky is 6-8 in Champions Clas- sic games, including a 2-2 record against Michigan State. This year will mark the fifth time the event has been hosted at Madi- son Square Garden and the first time since 2021. UK beat Duke in last year's event in Atlanta, 77-72. The last matchup with Michigan State was in 2022 in Indianapolis, with the Spartans earning an 86-77 win in double overtime. BBN United Tipoff Champs Kentucky was crowned the champion of the BBN United Tipoff Classic, a round rob- in multi-team event with Nicholls, Valpara- iso and Eastern Illinois. • UK went 3-0 in the event and out- scored opponents on average by 40 points. Kentucky averaged 94.3 points offensively and held the opposition to just 54.3 points • Collin Chandler was voted MVP of the event after averaging 11 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 52.9 per- cent from 3-point range • Kentucky shot 54.1 percent and held opponents to 30.2 percent shooting • UK was +23 in rebounding in these games, averaging 50.0 boards per contest Last Time Out Kentucky took down Eastern Illinois, 99- 53 to improve to 3-1 on the season. • The Cats shot 60.9 percent from the field in the game, their best shooting per- centage of the Mark Pope era, topping the previous high of 60.0 percent vs. Wright State last season • Mo Dioubate registered his first dou- ble-double in a UK uniform with 20 points and 11 rebounds. He led the team in points, rebounds, steals (2) and blocks (2) • Andrija Jelavic had career highs in points (11) and boards (7) • Jasper Johnson set career bests with seven assists and five rebounds. His seven dimes are the most by a Wildcat in a game this year Defensive Prowess on Display Early Mark Pope is known for his offensive sets and high 3-point shooting volume. But the 2025-26 edition of the Kentucky men's bas- ketball program thus far has been defined by the defensive end. • UK has held three of its first four oppo- nents under 60 points for the first time since 2014-15 • Against Nicholls, UK surrendered just 15 first-half points. That was the fewest in the opening half of a game at Rupp since Dec. 7, 2014 when EKU managed just 14 points • KenPom currently ranks UK's defensive unit as the ninth-best in the country • Opponents are connecting on just 34.4% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range • Ten UK players have generated at least one steal and nine different Cats have had at least one blocked shot • Kentucky is winning the boards -- dom- inating 48.0-30.3 in total boards. UK is re- bounding 86.7% of the opponent's misses From Press Row 14 n @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY BASKETBALLWe’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. 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Ranked on the list for three years in a row! FORBES WORLD’S BEST INSURANCE COMPANIES2025-26 SEC Standings and Statistics (Through Nov. 16 games) TeamSECOverallHomeRoad Georgia0-04-04-00-0 Ole Miss0-04-04-00-0 Missouri0-04-03-01-0 Vanderbilt0-04-03-01-0 LSU0-03-03-00-0 South Carolina0-03-03-00-0 Tennessee0-03-03-00-0 Arkansas0-03-13-00-1 Auburn0-03-13-00-0 Florida0-03-12-00-0 Kentucky0-03-13-00-1 Texas0-03-13-00-0 Alabama0-02-11-11-0 Mississippi State0-02-12-00-1 Oklahoma0-02-22-00-1 Texas A&M0-02-22-10-1 Scoring Player-Team.............................................................PPG 1. Hall, Keyshawn - AU................................................23.25 2. Hubbard, Josh - MS ................................................22.33 3. Mitchell, Mark - MO ................................................20.00 Ament, Nate - UT ....................................................20.00 5. Acuff Jr., Darius - AR ...............................................19.75 Rebounding Player-Team............................................................RPG 1. Hall, Keyshawn - AU ...............................................11.00 2. Sutton, Marquel - LS .................................................9.67 3. Chinyelu, Rueben - UF..............................................9.50 4. Traore, Lassina - TX...................................................9.00 Davis, Tae - OK .........................................................9.00 Assists Player-Team............................................................APG 1. Thomas Jr., Dedan - LS..............................................7.33 2. Philon, Labaron - UA.................................................6.00 3. Miles, Duke - VU .......................................................5.75 4. Gillespie, Ja'Kobi - UT ...............................................5.67 Hubbard, Josh - MS...................................................5.67 Steals Player-Team.............................................................SPG 1. Collins, Frankie - VU .................................................3.67 2. Miles, Duke - VU .......................................................3.00 Cain, Blue - UG ........................................................3.00 Wilkinson, Jeremiah - UG ..........................................3.00 5. Tanner, Tyler - VU ......................................................2.75 Blocks Player-Team............................................................BPG 1. Cyril, Somto - UG .....................................................2.50 2. Davis-Fleming, Jamarion - MS ...................................2.33 3. Abson, Justin - UG.....................................................2.00 Scott, James - UM.....................................................2.00 Okpara, Felix - UT .....................................................2.00 2025-26 Associated Press Rankings As of November 17, 2025 (Week 3) TeamRecord Points 1Purdue (44)4-01502 2Houston (12)4-01457 3UConn (2)4-01389 4Arizona (2)4-01314 5Duke (1)4-01277 6Louisville4-01161 6Michigan3-01103 8Illinois4-01017 9BYU3-1972 10Florida3-1949 11Alabama2-1928 12Kentucky3-1798 13Gonzaga4-0772 14St. John's2-1732 15Texas Tech3-1678 16Iowa State3-0664 17Michigan State3-0585 18North Carolina4-0516 19UCLA3-1423 20Tennessee3-0416 21Arkansas3-1247 22Auburn3-1188 23Wisconsin3-0180 24Kansas3-1132 25North Carolina State3-097 Around the CountryAround the SEC 18 n @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY BASKETBALLLoyola (Md.) Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Friday November Home Neutral Away Indiana Lexington, Ky. 7:30 p.m. Saturday December Oklahoma Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. February Purdue Lexington, Ky. W, 78-65 Friday October Exhibition St. John's Atlanta 12:30 p.m. Saturday December CBS Sports Classic Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. February Georgetown Lexington, Ky. L, 70-84 Thursday October Exhibition Bellarmine Lexington, Ky. 1:00 p.m. Tuesday December Florida Gainesville, Fla. 3:00 p.m. Saturday February Nicholls Lexington, Ky. W, 77-51 Tuesday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 1:00 p.m. Saturday January Georgia Lexington, Ky. 9:00 p.m. February Valparaiso Lexington, Ky. W, 107-59 Friday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism Missouri Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. January Auburn Auburn, Ala 8:30 p.m. Saturday February Louisville Louisville, Ky. L, 88-96 Tuesday November Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. Saturday January Eastern Illinois Lexington, Ky. W, 99-52 Friday November BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7:00 p.m. February Texas A&M College Station, Texas. 7:00 p.m. March Michigan State New York 6:30 p.m. Tuesday November State Farm Champions Classic LSU Baton Rouge, La.. 7:00 p.m. January Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 2:00 p.m. Saturday February Florida Lexington, Ky. 4:00 p.m. Saturday March Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 12:00 p.m. Saturday January SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Tues.-Sat. March 11-15 Tennessee Tech Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. November Texas Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. January NCAA Tournament Final Four® Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA March- April TBA North Carolina Lexington, Ky. 9:30 p.m. Tuesday December SEC/ACC Challenge Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 12:00 p.m. Saturday January Gonzaga Nashville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. Friday December Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 9:00 p.m. January North Caro. Central Lexington, Ky. 7:00 p.m. Tuesday December Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 6:30 p.m. Saturday January 2025-26 Basketball Schedule 20 n @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY BASKETBALLNext >