What an up-and-down season it has been for Kentucky Basketball, as shown by just the last two games: A dominating win over Vanderbilt, where the Wildcats led for 38+ minutes, followed by a double-digit loss to Texas A&M just 72 hours later, allowing a 27-3 run.
Kentucky
The 2025-26 Kentucky Basketball roster as we know it
In the era of the transfer portal, there is no such thing as the offseason.
Coaches all over the country are scrambling to inject as much talent into their programs as possible before the well runs dry.
When it comes to the Kentucky Wildcats, the Big Blue Nation has quickly learned that this new coaching staff moves in silence. There has been little information leaking and the commitments and decommitments have come abruptly, without warning.
Case in point: The Wildcats learned Thursday night that Acaden Lewis will not be part of the 2025 recruiting class after he decommitted.
Lewis was set to arrive in Lexington with the luxury of learning from Jaland Lowe and not being forced to do too much too early. It’s unclear why Lewis is now reopening his recruitment, but Kentucky will thankfully have other options to run the point next season.
With that, we’re beginning to get an idea of what the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball roster will look like. The final product is still a work in progress, but the foundation for Mark Pope’s second year has been laid.
Here is a quick look at the current roster with a projected starting line-up.
Jaland Lowe – Adding an experienced veteran to run the show came as welcomed news over the weekend. In two years at Pitt, Lowe played in a total of 64 games and will come to Lexington eyeing a breakout season playing in Pope’s scoring-friendly offense.
Travis Perry – There’s no denying that Perry will enter his sophomore season with a little added pressure to perform after struggling to carve out a role for himself in year one. He was asked to do a lot because of injuries, so you can expect a smoother approach in year two.
Jasper Johnson – The Woodford County product has as much upside as just about anyone in the country. His smooth left-hand game, paired with his fierce athleticism, makes for a combo that will have the NBA scouts closely following Johnson’s development.
Otega Oweh – Not much to say here. Otegatron returning to Lexington will be the foundation of this roster. His heroics fueled Kentucky’s run to the Sweet 16, capturing the hearts of the Big Blue Nation along the way. Next year’s season could be very much dependent on the contributions of #00, so long as he doesn’t go pro. He’s expected to test the waters but is widely projected to go undrafted.
Trent Noah – It’s not an unpopular opinion to think that Noah will have a monster sophomore season. His stature compliments SEC play well and he’s proven he can come in and make a big shot. Keep an eye on the Mountain Mamba next year.
Collin Chandler – Who knows where the Cats would have been without Chandler stepping up in the face of devastating injuries. His big-shot-making ability and defensive tenacity were put on display in some of the biggest moments of the season. Expect to see a lot of Collin Chandler next year, especially now that Lewis is out of the fold.
Brandon Garrison – Anyone who watched Kentucky basketball last season saw the potential in Brandon Garrison. Mark Pope could be relying on BG to play a much bigger role with the departure of Amari Williams.
Malachi Moreno – Many fans were introduced to Moreno after his strong showing in the McDonald’s All-American game. The 7-footer looks poised to contribute in his first year as a Wildcat.
Kam Williams – At 6-foot-8, Williams shot 41% from deep last season at Tulane and all signs point to him thriving in Mark Pope’s offense.
Mouhamed Dioubate – All signs are pointing to this being a huge commitment for Mark Pope and the Cats. The Alabama transfer is expected to bring versatility and the ability to stretch the floor. He fills a much-needed void in the front-court and is an offensive rebounding machine.
Jayden Quaintance – Kentucky’s latest pick up was a needle mover. The projected NBA lottery pick will be coming off of a torn ACL but all signs point to him being available for the start of the season. This was a monster commitment for Mark Pope and his staff.
Projected Starting Lineup
- PG: Jaland Lowe
- SG: Jasper Johnson
- PF: Otega Oweh
- PF: Mouhamed Dioubate
- C: Jayden Quaintance
Keep in mind the roster is not complete, and Mark Pope may still have some magic up his sleeve. Among the names Kentucky is still in the mix for are Robert Morris forward Alvaro Folgueiras and Sam Houston shooting guard Lamar Wilkerson.
Buckle up. We’re in for a busy couple of weeks and potentially months.
Kentucky
Man arrested after pound of meth found in Kentucky home during search warrant
BURKESVILLE, Ky. (WSMV) – A man was arrested Friday after a search warrant was executed at a Kentucky home, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The search warrant comes after a weeks-long joint investigation between the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police.
CCSO said a search warrant was executed at a home at 4426 Glasgow Road about 1 p.m. Friday.
During the search, deputies found about one pound of methamphetamine inside the home.
Stephen Eaves, of Cumberland County, was arrested following the search, CCSO said.
“The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work with all first responding agencies to keep our community as safe as possible,” CCSO said.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
Kentucky bill would change how alcohol, cannabis beverages are taxed
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A bill that would change how alcohol and cannabis-infused beverages are taxed is under consideration in Frankfort.
House Bill 9 would impose a 4% state retail regulatory license fee on all sales of alcoholic beverages and cannabis-infused beverages to consumers by retailers.
The bill would also establish state wholesale regulatory license fees on those same products and, for the first time, bring kratom, hemp-derived, and cannabinoid products into the formal tax structure.
How the tax would be calculated
Annie Rouse, CEO and founder of CannaBuzz, said the tax itself is not the problem, but how it is calculated could be.
“Right now it kind of seems like nickel and diming at every part of the supply chain,” Rouse said.
Rouse said the introduction of House Bill 9 means retailers may not be able to absorb the cost of supply chain and retail taxes, eventually passing those costs on to customers. She said the tax would be applied per milligram of THC in a product, rather than on the product’s value — a structure she said mirrors a similar shift happening in the alcohol industry.
“That is also happening with alcohol — they’re moving away from the value tax and moving it to a by-alcohol-volume tax,” Rouse said.
“So kind of taxed on multiple levels. There’s still some work that needs to be done to kind of maybe move some of those taxes around so it’s just one tax,” Rouse said.
Rouse said she is working with legislators to help them understand the best way for the state to earn tax revenue from the products without harming the industries.
“We need to find that sweet spot so that people aren’t going out of state and instead they’re staying here, they’re buying it here and then we’re continuing to support the economy,” Rouse said.
What customers say
Until the bill is passed, it is unclear how much of a financial impact the tax would have on customers. Customers told WKYT that because cannabis-infused drinks and alcohol are entertainment purchases, those products would be among the first cut from their budgets.
“It’s already an expensive product and, you know, I don’t want to spend an extra four dollars on my sleep gummies or my beer,” said Will Partain, a customer who buys products in both industries.
Partain said a price increase would stop him from shopping local. He said if local companies raise their prices, he would shift to major brands and buy less overall.
What else is in the bill
Beyond the new fee structure, House Bill 9 would repeal Kentucky’s existing excise and wholesale taxes on alcoholic and cannabis-infused beverages on July 1, 2027, replacing them with the new regulatory license fee system.
The bill would also direct 0.5% of collected state retail regulatory license fees to the Alcohol Wellness and Responsibility Education Fund and create new public health laboratory and testing standards for cannabis-infused beverages, kratom, hemp, and cannabinoid products.
Under the bill, local governments in moist or wet cities and counties would gain new authority to impose their own local regulatory license fees. Existing local fees would be required to drop to 3% within four years; future fees would be capped at 1%.
The bill also includes a permanent prohibition on retail licensees using a premises where alcohol was sold to minors three or more times within 24 months.
Timeline
The bill includes an emergency clause, meaning most provisions could take effect immediately if signed into law. The full tax overhaul — including the sunset of existing excise and wholesale taxes and the full implementation of the new regulatory license fee system — would not take effect until July 1, 2027.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
Kentucky Basketball vs. Florida viewing info, what to watch for, and predictions
While locked in an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats are playing for seeding, likely a 6-7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and anywhere from a 4-10 seed in the SEC Tournament. The last game of the regular season to ultimately decide the latter is the SEC regular-season champion, the Florida Gators.
Already having played once this season, Kentucky trailed by as many as 17 points in the first 10 minutes, but fought back to make it a five-point game in the second half.
Can the Wildcats put together a full 40 minutes together, avoid a season sweep for the first time since 2018, and guarantee themselves a bye in the SEC Tournament?
Here’s what to watch for in Kentucky vs. Florida, Part II.
While Florida has one of the best frontcourts in the country, one of the deciding factors in the first game was the backcourt play, as Xavian Lee and Urban Klavzar, who had two of their best performances of the season and combined for 41 points.
At this point of the season, the correlation of Kentucky’s success and the play of Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, and Denzel Aberdeen is pretty clear. Coming off a game against Texas A&M, where they combined for 36 points, on 11-30 shooting, they need to outplay Florida’s backcourt for Kentucky to have a shot at the upset.
Given their elite frontcourt, Florida looks to give their big men plenty of touches around the basket and attack the basket for offensive rebounding opportunities. As a result, they draw fouls at one of the highest rates in the nation, nearly 20 a game.
In the first matchup, Kentucky had four players with four or more fouls, including Brandon Garrison, who fouled out. This limited Malachi Moreno to just 21 minutes, still having a team-high 11 rebounds. Backing him up, Garrison had as many fouls (5) as points, rebounds, and blocks combined.
Kentucky will likely face foul trouble again, and with a limited frontcourt, Mark Pope has the option of playing Malachi Moreno through foul trouble or hoping for better production from the other bigs. Pope has shown that he would rather go with the latter. Fortunately, Mo Dioubate is coming off his best game of the season, and Garrison had one of his better performances, albeit against a smaller Texas A&M team. They will need to sustain some level of production to give Kentucky a chance against Florida.
Kentucky played well for the final 30 minutes of the first matchup, outscoring Florida 66-60 during that span. It was the first 10 minutes that were the issue, where they turned the ball over 9 times and put themselves into a 17-point deficit.
Whether it be slow starts, as in the Florida game, or tough mid-game stretches like against Texas A&M, too often Kentucky puts itself in a hole with turnovers. Mark Pope has said it, turnovers are a great indicator for this team. When keeping turnovers in the single digits, Kentucky is 11-2; when that number rises to 10 or more, it is just 3-9 against power opponent teams.
Thomas Haugh 6-9, 215 lbs
- 17.1 PPG
- 6.0 RPG
- 17 points and 8 rebounds vs UK on 2/14/26
Reuben Chinyelu 6-10, 265 lbs
- 11.7 PPG
- 4.1 APG
- 22 points, 4-7 3P vs UK on 2/14/26
- Time: 4:00 PM ET on March 7th
- Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Announcers: Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, and Dick Vitale will call the action.
- Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
- Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
- Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
- Rosters: UK | UF
- Stats to Know: UK | UF
- KenPom: UK | UF
- Team Sheet: UK | UF
- Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, so please check back later for those. The analytics have Kentucky as the underdog, giving them anywhere between a 1-3 and 1-4 chance. ESPN is the most positive in Kentucky’s chances, at a 37.2% chance to win. EvanMiya (32.3%), KenPom (29%), and BartTorvik (27%) trail behind, all within five percent of each other.
- Predictions: The analytics show the most favorable scenario is a five-point loss, with Haslametrics (80-75) and EvanMiya (81-76) projecting that. BartTorvik and KenPom are both in agreement with a seven-point loss, 81-74. Florida is playing like a title contender, riding a 10-game win streak, while Kentucky is struggling to string back-to-back wins. With Florida’s higher level of play, I am taking them to win 85-76.
Sound off in the comments section on how you think this matchup will go.
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