Kentucky hoops falls to No. 15 Kansas in Champions Classic
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats failed their first real test of the 2026-27 season on Tuesday night at the Champions Classic in Chicago, Illinois. Led by a 30-point performance by Kansas guard Tre White, the Jayhawks took a 10-point lead into halftime and never looked back for a 89-69 win.
Outside of Malachi Moreno and Zoom Diallo, it was a rough shooting night for Mark Pope’s squad. The Wildcats hit just 4 of their 21 3-point attempts and 58% of their attempts from the free throw line. Moreno and Diallo combined to hit 18 of their 26 shot attempts — all other Wildcats finished 9-for-33.
Turnovers really did Kentucky in Tuesday night. The Wildcats finished with 16 turnovers on the evening compared to Kansas’ 10 — Alex Wilkins accounted for 5 of these turnovers in a truly brutal performance by the former Furman guard.
In addition, Moreno’s quick pair of first-half fouls contributed to Kentucky’s slower start. The Wildcats were unable to get much going in the post without him on the court, as he finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds across 27 minutes of action. Only Milan Momcilovic finished with more than 3 rebounds.
Diallo was Kentucky’s most consistent player on Tuesday. He shot 10-of-15 from the field and scored a team-high 24 points, including 3 of Kentucky’s 4 made 3-pointers. The Washington transfer has been wildly efficient to start the year, sitting at 17.3 points per game and 63% from the field.
Next up, Kentucky is set to face off against a Northern Arizona squad that is still searching for its first win of the season.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
