Kentucky men’s basketball (8-4) defeated the St. John’s Red Storm (7-4) 78-66 on Saturday afternoon in the CBS Sports Classic, picking up its first ranked win of the season.
This matchup was significant for the Cats: not only did they have another opportunity to beat a ranked opponent, but head coach Mark Pope was coaching against Rick Pitino, who coached him at Kentucky when they won the national title in 1996.
Entering off back-to-back wins, Pope rolled out a starting lineup of Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Mo Dioubate and Malachi Moreno.
UK won the tip but was unsuccessful on its first offensive try following a turnover by Dioubate. However, on its first defensive effort, Moreno and Dioubate each recorded a block, getting the ‘Catlanta’ crowd heavily involved.
Nearly two minutes later, Oweh got Kentucky on the board courtesy of a drained mid-range jump shot.
Kentucky suffered a brutal blow early on when Jaland Lowe checked into the contest for only seven seconds before re-injuring his right shoulder, the same shoulder that he hurt in the blue-white exhibition game that kept him out at the start of the year. Lowe did not return.
In a more positive manner, Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance made his Kentucky debut against the Red Storm, subbing in for Brandon Garrison five minutes in. Quaintance, who suffered a torn ACL at the tail end of last season, had a strong, early impact, recording two points and a block in his first four minutes on the court.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half, the Wildcats held a 12-10 lead while Oweh and Garrison each had a team-high four points. The Cats were competing, but couldn’t get a majority of their shots to fall.
St. John’s’ Ruben Prey received a technical foul with two minutes left in the first half after committing a hard foul on Oweh, transpiring into some trash talking, Pope giving the officials an ear-full and cheers from Big Blue Nation.
The Cats went into the break down 32-25, shooting 10-28 (35.7%) from the field and 1-6 (16.7%) from deep. Oweh recorded six points through the first 20 minutes while Moreno registered six rebounds.
The trajectory of the game shifted right after halftime, as Oweh came out and recorded a momentum-shifting steal, which led to a made-and-one layup.
Building off that sequence, Kentucky sparked a 14-0 run over the span of 3:42 with buckets coming from Quaintance and Lowe while Kam Williams sank two 3-pointers as well. The double-digit stretch brought the Cats up to a 52-43 lead before St. John’s Joson Sanon made two free throws.
From there, the game was in the hands of Kentucky, which held a 9-point, 54-45 lead with less than 10 minutes to go.
Down the stretch, Quaintance slammed back-to-back dunks for the Cats with less than five minutes left to play, nearly solidifying a win for UK.
Oweh finished with a game-high 20 points while Quaintance closed his Kentucky debut with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Lowe also contributed heavily, scoring 13 points while dishing out three assists.
The Cats, as a whole, shot 45.9% from the field and 25% from deep, while forcing 12 turnovers and registering seven total blocks.
Kentucky will return to Rupp Arena for its final game of 2025, facing off against Bellarmine (5-6). Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. EST and will stream live on SECNetwork+.