Kentucky, LSU collide while working through key absences

Field Level Media|published: Tue 13th January, 19:06 2026

Jan 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Jaland Lowe (15) shoots the ball during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

In a season marred with inconsistency, Kentucky will try to string together consecutive Southeastern Conference victories on Wednesday when it travels to face LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

Last time out, Kentucky (10-6, 1-2 SEC) rebounded from a two-game skid by pulling away for a 92-68 win over Mississippi State. In the process, head coach Mark Pope's team lost Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe to a season-ending shoulder injury.

The coveted offseason addition dislocated his shoulder three times across the season, playing in just nine games with the Wildcats. Lowe managed only three minutes in Kentucky's most recent win.

In Lowe's place, Kentucky will continue to rely on the backcourt of Otega Oweh (15.5 points per game) and Denzel Aberdeen (11.3 ppg), as the duo tries to bring "fun" back to the program.

"It's unbelievable how fun this game can be when you play it with your team," Pope said. "It's unbelievable how fun and inspiring and contagious it can be. We've seen that in runs when we're getting out in transition, and guys kind of fall in love with making plays for each other. We just haven't seen it very much in the halfcourt."

Oweh has posted three straight 20-point outings and five in the past seven games.

Kentucky is searching for its first win at LSU since February 2020 and hoping to avoid its first 1-3 start in league play since the 2022-23 campaign.

LSU (12-4, 0-3) is the last winless SEC team in conference play, most recently falling 84-73 at undefeated Vanderbilt. The Tigers' injury woes have plagued them since the nonconference slate ended, as leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr. (16.2 ppg) hasn't played since Dec. 29 with a lower leg injury.

The UNLV transfer is labeled as day-to-day, and head coach Matt McMahon knows how badly the Tigers need his return to action.

"We're trying to adjust on the fly here," McMahon told the LSU Sports Radio Network. "We've prepared for five, six months to play at a breakneck pace with (Thomas) out in the open floor, really feeding off our transition game. That's not our strength right now."

Behind Thomas, Mike Nwoko adds 15.1 ppg and Max Mackinnon chips in 14.4 ppg. Mackinnon poured in a season-high 27 points in the loss at Vanderbilt.

--Field Level Media