Kentucky men’s basketball kick-started its 2025-26 campaign with a 77-51 win over the Nicholls Colonels Tuesday night, guided by a tale of two halves. 

With the anticipation and excitement of the new season at its peak, Kentucky came out in a way no one expected —sluggish and inefficient, to say the least.

The Cats buried just one basket through the first three minutes of play and amounted to just 10 total points through the first nine minutes of play. 

Riding on the back of a shaky offensive start, Kentucky’s defensive efforts were its lifeline, keeping Nicholls off the scoresheet through the first 3:22 of play, while only allowing it to hit its second field goal with 6:28 left in the first half. 

Kentucky limited Nicholls to a 12% field goal percentage and a 7.1% 3-point percentage in the first half, with eight of the Colonels’ points coming from the free-throw line.

In other positive news, Kentucky forced eight turnovers and went into the break with a 28-15 lead.

However, the Cats shot 2-16 (12.5%) from beyond the 3-point arch while surrendering six turnovers of their own. 

Kentucky opened the second half looking like a completely different team, finding its first points on its first offensive possession, while going on an 11-0 scoring run in the first ten minutes of play. 

Collin Chandler finished with a game-high 15 points, scoring 11 of those in the second half, while slamming home a thunderous dunk that sent Rupp Arena into a frenzy with just over five minutes left to play.

Otega Oweh had a solid game, scoring 13 points while shooting 4-9 from the field and 1-2 from deep, also grabbing three rebounds.

Jasper Johnson (11) and Denzel Aberdeen (10) were the only two other Cats to reach double-digits, while Brandon Garrison scraped the surface with eight.

After a nerve-wracking season-opening half, Kentucky was able to stretch out a pretty big deficit and close out the game with a 26-point victory.

The Wildcats are back in action on Friday, Nov. 7, against the Valparaiso Beacons inside Rupp Arena. Tipoff for that contest is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be viewed on SEC Network+.