Malachi Moreno Celebrated His Birthday the Perfect Way with UK Win

Kentucky players sang "Happy Birthday" to Malachi Moreno after the win over Purdue. (Vicky Graff Photo)

How good was 7-foot  freshman Malachi Moreno in Kentucky’s win against Purdue?

“Moreno might be in that starting lineup with his size, speed, and aggressiveness,” said SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes. ‘He is still figuring things out, but he’s really good. He understands how to operate out of a ball screen. He is patient, powerful, and controlled going against bigger defenders and not shook at all.”

Moreno had eight points on 4-for-5 shooting — his only miss was a 3-point try —and also had four rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. His only turnover in 22 minutes came at the end of the first half when he made his steal just before the half ended and lost control of the ball going up for a layup.

It was a nice way to celebrate his birthday, and teammates sang to him after the game, as did fans who stayed for the UK Radio Network postgame show, where he chatted with former UK All-American Jack Givens.

Moreno said his birthday wish was a win, and he got it.

“I asked for a win for my birthday, and I got it. So my wish came true,” the 2025 Kentucky Mr.  Basketball said. “[It] felt great. We had a tough test, [the] preseason number one team in the country, and we got the win. I think we really proved ourselves and really saw where we are at as a team and what we can improve on, and also what we are doing really good.”

Moreno admitted that becoming a more physical player was a “main focal point” for him coming into college, where he knew he would face older, stronger players.

“ I just had to prepare. I tried to impose my will and set the tone,” the freshman said. “College is a lot different than high school, and  — I think since then — it has only been trying to prove myself and just trying to get better every single day. I think that has been the main focal point for me, and I think that has really helped me so far.”

Kentucky coach Mark Pope saw he was “proud” of Moreno’s overall play and development since his high school career ended with Great Crossing winning the 2025 Kentucky state championship.

“I got to know his family really well. His mom is incredible, and his brother Michael, oriented his whole life to take care of his brother, and Malachi himself has just made great changes,” Pope said. “I talked about this this summer when I was at USA (Basketball) and saw him compete, I was blown away also, because I wouldn’t say soft, but he was kind of a one position guy and was not rebounding out of his position and was not rim protecting out of his position.

“He’s just made incredible progress, and that’s a real tribute to his family and himself, and he’s got a chance to grow into a really special player. He’s got a lot of work to do and so much growth ahead of him, but he’s got a chance to have a massive impact on this game.”

Moreno is one of several talented bigs that Pope can use in various ways, and Moreno says that makes every player better.

“There is nobody who has depth like us, in my opinion. I think we have a second unit that can come in and everybody is hungry, everybody is ready to eat,” Moreno said. “I think that is just a recipe for success.

“We got to continue to be us. We kind of let the game pull away from us but we came back to basics and the same boring habits and just being Kentucky and that’s what we have to do every game.”

He said the “crazy” atmosphere in Rupp Arena only adds to UK’s strength.

“Honestly, that is [Big Blue Nation], and there is no better fan base in the country than BBN. That just shows, no matter where we are playing at, they are always there,” Moreno said.