No. 9 Kentucky takes down No. 1 Purdue 78-65 in preseason exhibition matchup

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The Wildcats were thrown to the wolves early, taking on the No. 1 AP Preseason-ranked Purdue Boilermakers. But Kentucky didn’t back down from the challenge, dominating Purdue in a 78–65 win Friday night at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky shared the ball effectively, with ten Wildcats playing at least 15 minutes and eight players scoring six points or more. Jasper Johnson led the team with 15 points, followed by Otega Oweh and Trent Noah, who each finished with ten.

In the absence of Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance, several other Wildcats stepped up. Malachi Moreno tallied eight points and four rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen added nine, Mo Dioubate scored eight, and Brandon Garrison contributed seven.

Collin Chandler scored just two points but finished with a +15 while on the court. Mark Pope called him the “MVP” of Friday’s game.

The Wildcats controlled most of the stat sheet. They outscored Purdue 36-26 in the paint, won the fast-break battle 15-5, and grabbed 14 second-chance points to Purdue’s four. Kentucky’s defense was equally impressive, outrebounding the Boilermakers 42-30.

Kentucky will face another Division I opponent in their second exhibition game next Thursday, hosting the Georgetown Hoyas at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.