Denzel Aberdeen and UK were no match for Michigan State. (Vicky Graff Photo)
For the second time in a week, Kentucky lost to a ranked team, leaving the Wildcats winless against teams ranked in the Top 25 this season.
Seven days after a 96-88 setback to instate rival Louisville, the Wildcats were overwhelmed in an 83-66 decision to Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Michigan St Kentucky Basketball
It marked the second straight season Kentucky (3-2) has played in the iconic arena and the team’s third loss in five games to the Spartans in the Champions Classic.
Kentucky dropped an 85-64 loss to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden last season.
Kentucky was without point guard Jaland Lowe (shoulder) for a second straight game and Denzel Aberdeen started in Lowe’s absence. Aberdeen finished with 10 points after scoring 26 in the loss at Louisville a week ago.
“It’s a work in progress. I got to do a better job,” UK coach Mark Pope said in his postgame press conference. “My messaging is not resonating with the guys right now, and that is my responsibility. We’re not playing like our teams play, and that’s my communication issue, so it’s a place we can all work on.”
Michigan State (4-0) had hit just 13 3-pointers in wins over Colgate, Arkansas and San Jose State to open the season, but fell two shy of that total against the Wildcats. The Spartans connected on 11 3-pointers on 22 attempts in their highest scoring output of the season.
Jaxon Kohler, Trey Fort and Kur Teng combined for eight treys, with Fort and Teng connecting on three shots each from long range in the double-digit victory. Michigan State held a dominating 42-28 edge in rebounding.
The Spartans built a commanding 17-point lead at the half as the Wildcats struggled to do anything well. Kentucky was leading 17-14 before Michigan State went on a 19-2 run for a 33-19 lead.
In the second half, Kentucky pulled within 10 twice at 58-48 and 60-50 but could get no closer. The Wildcats were down 67-55 when the Spartans went on an 8-0 run to ice the win. Their biggest lead was 24 points at 80-56.
Otega Oweh led four players in double figures with 12 points, while Aberdeen, Collin Chandler and Mouhamed Dioubate finished with 10 points each. Freshman Malachi Moreno added nine points and Jasper Johnson finished with eight for the Wildcats, which got 22 points from their bench.
The Wildcats fell to 0-7 under Pope when scoring 70 points or less.
2026 Champions Classic in Chicago
The 2026 Champions Classic will return to the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 10, 2026, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.
Kentucky will play Kansas and Michigan State meets Duke. UK will play Duke in the 2027 Champions Classic and Michigan State in 2028.
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Gametracker: Loyola (Md.) at Kentucky, 7 p.m., Friday. TV/Radio: SEC Network Plus, UK Radio Network.
Kentucky-Michigan State Basketball
Photos by Vicky Graff
9 Responses
It looked like boys playing against grown men. The Cats whimped out.
Well football is a bust and basketball is headed that way. Maybe we can talk about Lacrosse.
And the grown men dominated
I think you are being kind Larry!
I was an avid Pope fan, but he is not getting the job done. They need to stop singing Kumbyah in practice and get serious about playing Kentucky basketball! It is a privilege to wear the Kentucky uniform. It's an obligation to be our coach. What we had to endure in the Louisville and Michigan State games is inexcusable. I don't know what's going on with Pope, but he has 2 more cupcake games to get things turned around before playing North Carolina and Gonzaga 3 days later. If we puke out 2 more pitiful performances against them like we did Louisville and Michigan State, Pope should resign and turn the team over to Mark Fox. That would be a drastic move, but if your business is going the wrong way, you don't wait until you have to file for bankruptcy until you change who is running the company. Steve Spurier was man enough to do that at South Carolina after losing to Kentucky twice. Some things are just not acceptable!
You don't come to Kentucky, get paid $6 million, have $20 million in NIL, and have your pick of seasoned veterans from the transfer portal then lose. Coach Pope, this is you panic alarm. Go to the Seton Center gym and find 10 guys who want to win if you have to, but start winning….period!
Why is it that many other teams can recruit big, physical men that can score inside and we can't. BG is one of the biggest Big Busts we have had in awhile. The man has no heart. He had 2 pts in 20 mins of play.
Recruit? What's that? Today, we buy players. It is that simple.
If a program has the highest payroll on record and cannot buy a championship quality team, then there is something wrong in the purchasing department.
May be time to switch allegiances to the Ladies….at least they play with heart and the name on front of jerseys. Brookes is a better coach and recruiter than Pope.
they do play hard
Professor You are totally Correct! Ohio State has done good buying a Championship Football Team. We bought a player that everyone prints that he’s a STARTER and recovering from an ACL injury. But he didn’t injure it at Kentucky! He has Never Started a game in a Kentucky Uniform! How many millions did we play for a Thoroughbred with a bad leg who may never run in Kentucky? And he may windup like the Sharpe kid who the used car salesman paid millions to and wouldn’t play him in the Tournament because the former coach and his parents thought he might damage his NBA stock! We had a point guard Kentucky kid that got run off and then paid millions for a kid that is done for the year. I watched Western Kentucky play Sunday and everyone should watch the Moore Kid from Dry Ridge Ky that’s playing his ass off for Western Kentucky, Mr Noah should watch him play. Moore is the same height as Noah and he blocked a shot and made a dunk against Tenn State that should make ESPN highlight reels. Western got the home town Unseld kid that came in the game night before last and made 4 three’s in a row! If You BBN fans want to watch Kentucky kids and the whole team play basketball like it should be played watch WKU ! I get sick watching these “Pussy Cats”! Pope should watch them also to see what a good coach Western has and knows how to coach. If You want to be happy watching a Kentucky team play just start watching Western like I have decided to.
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