5 things you need to know from Kentucky’s 99-53 rout of Eastern Illinois
Five things you need to know from No. 9 Kentucky’s 99-53 blowout of Eastern Illinois in men’s college basketball:
1. Who’s the point? Having suffered another shoulder injury in Kentucky’s Thursday practice, Jaland Lowe was unavailable Friday night for the second time in four UK regular-season games to date.
In Lowe’s absence, Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen was Kentucky’s primary ballhandler against EIU.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior from Orlando played well, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, an assist, two steals and only one turnover.
Kentucky was plus-37 with Aberdeen on the court. The next best plus/minus mark for a UK player was Brandon Garrison at plus-29.
UK would obviously prefer to have Lowe healthy and on the court. But I think the Cats will be fine if Aberdeen has to play the point.
Secondary ballhanders Jasper Johnson (seven assists) and Collin Chandler (four) got in on the “giving spirit.”
2. Oweh’s bounce back. Otega Oweh did not have a good night in UK’s 96-88 loss at intrastate rival Louisville on Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior was 4 for 13 from the field and missed five of his six 3-point tries, turned the ball over five times and finished with the worst plus/minus metric, minus-16, of anyone on the home team.
On Friday night against Eastern Illinois, Oweh was fine. He had 12 points, two rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 18 minutes.
Oweh suffered a turf toe injury during the summer that had him in a walking boot for multiple weeks and kept him from having a normal ramp up to his senior season.
One wonders if the injury is still bothering Oweh.
3. Chandler’s trey streak ends. Kentucky sophomore guard Collin Chandler needed only three games of his sophomore season to make some UK basketball history.
The 6-5, 205-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, is the first Wildcats player to hit as many as four 3-pointers in the first three games of a season.
Chandler shot 4 for 7 from behind the arc in the season-opening 77-51 win over Nicholls; was 4 for 8 in the 107-59 rout of Valparaiso; and went 4 for 6 in the 96-88 defeat at Louisville.
Against Eastern Illinois, Chandler only attempted two treys, making one, and finished with four points and four assists.
4. Cats don’t let Louisville “beat them twice.” Kentucky followed up its disappointing showing at U of L with a victory over Eastern Illinois.
All-time, UK is almost a sure thing to follow a loss to Louisville with a win in its next game.
Tuesday night’s defeat to the Cardinals was the 18th for Kentucky (versus 40 wins) in the all-time series.
With the victory over Eastern Illinois, UK is now 17-1 in games that immediately follow a loss to U of L.
The only such defeat came in Rick Pitino’s first season as Kentucky coach in 1989-90, when the Cats followed up an 86-79 loss to Louisville with a 106-91 loss at Georgia.
5. Kentucky vs. the OVC. Two of the more painful losses in UK’s NCAA Tournament history came against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.
On March 18, 1971, Western Kentucky routed Kentucky 107-83 in the NCAA Sweet 16 in what was then the first-ever meeting between intrastate programs with rich hoops legacies.
Eleven years later, No. 6 seed Kentucky was shocked by No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee State, 50-44, in an NCAA Tournament first-round contest. The loss to the Blue Raiders prevented UK from facing Louisville in the round of 32.
WKU (1982) and MTSU (2000) have long since left the OVC.
Kentucky’s win in its first meeting with Eastern Illinois makes the Wildcats 26-0 against the teams that currently comprise the Ohio Valley Conference:
UK is 12-0 vs. Morehead State; 5-0 against both Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech; 2-0 against Tennessee Martin; and 1-0 vs. Little Rock and EIU.
Among current OVC members, Kentucky has never played Lindenwood, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Southern Indiana or Western Illinois.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 8:54 PM.
