Kentucky shakes off poor start to beat Mississippi State for first SEC victory
Already down double digits fewer than five minutes into the game and with two of their best players sidelined, this was shaping up as another terrible night for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Not only did Mark Pope’s team manage to avoid another embarrassment in Rupp Arena, the Cats scored a resounding victory for their first win in SEC play.
UK made seven consecutive shots to turn an 11-point deficit into a one-point lead before the midway point of the first half and ultimately beat Mississippi State 92-68 on Saturday night.
Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 22 points and was a menace defensively, coming up with five steals. He also had five assists. Freshman center Malachi Moreno had 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Denzel Aberdeen scored 16 points, and Kam Williams added 14 points.
The night got off to a rocky start for the Wildcats, who were already playing without projected NBA lottery pick Jayden Quaintance, when starting point guard Jaland Lowe abruptly left the court clutching his right shoulder with 17:13 left in the first half.
Quaintance was ruled out of the game Friday night, with Pope saying the 6-foot-10 forward has been experiencing swelling his knee. He underwent surgery for a torn ACL in March and made his return to the court in a win over St. John’s on Dec. 20.
Lowe left the floor and went directly to the UK locker room after injuring his right shoulder for the fourth time since October while playing defense on Mississippi State star Josh Hubbard. Lowe did not return to the game, though he was back on the bench for the second half.
With those two out, Kentucky fell behind 18-6 in the early going. The Cats were down 28-17 when they unleashed a 12-0 run — kickstarted by a fast-break layup and 3-pointer from Oweh — to take a 29-28 lead.
The score remained close for the rest of the first half, and UK went into the locker room with a 44-39 advantage. It was the Wildcats’ first halftime lead in nine games this season against a high-major opponent. Kentucky had a 2-6 record against such opposition before Saturday night.
The Cats maintained their lead early in the second half before slowly inching away midway through the period. UK was up 69-62 with a little more than eight minutes left, when Oweh managed a steal and dunk before nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the next possession. That gave the Cats a 74-62 advantage, their first double-digit lead of the night.
Not long after that, Oweh glided in for another bucket, putting the Cats ahead 85-65 amid chants of “Go Big Blue!” from the Rupp crowd. Kentucky improved to 10-6 on the season and 1-2 in SEC play.
Mississippi State is now 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the SEC.
UK honored the 1966 national runner-up team at halftime Saturday, with Pat Riley, Louie Dampier, Thad Jaracz, Cliff Berger, Bob Tallent, Steve Clevenger, Brad Bounds, Jim LeMaster, Gene Stewart, Tommy Porter, Gary Gamble and Larry Lentz all honored at midcourt. Larry Conley was unable to attend the ceremony.
Jaracz, a Lexington native, was the honorary “Y” during the second half.
After two straight home games, Kentucky will go back on the road for a matchup with LSU on Wednesday night. The Tigers are 12-4 on the season and 0-3 in the SEC.
Kentucky 92, Mississippi State 68: See full statistics
This story was originally published January 10, 2026 at 10:32 PM.
