Jaland Lowe makes Kentucky debut in 107-59 rout of Valparaiso

Ben Roberts, Lexington Herald-Leader on Nov 7, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s new point guard made his debut for the Wildcats on Friday night.

The game was basically decided before he got on the court.

Jaland Lowe returned from injury to play his first game in a UK uniform, making his debut off the bench in the ninth-ranked Cats’ 107-59 victory over Valparaiso in Rupp Arena.

Lowe checked into the game before the first TV timeout of the evening, and his team was already leading 13-3. It got a lot worse for Valpo after that.

The Wildcats, who scored only 28 first-half points in their 77-51 victory over Nicholls in the regular-season opener, surpassed that number before the midway point of the first half of this one.

Before Lowe even checked into the game — with 16:33 still on the clock — all five of Kentucky’s starters had already scored. The Cats made their first six shots from the field, and Lowe got in on the action with an assist — passing the ball to Denzel Aberdeen for a 3-pointer in the corner — on his first offensive possession as a UK player.

A short time later, Lowe drove the lane and hit a layup for his first points as a Wildcat. That bucket gave Kentucky a 20-5 lead. The Cats scored their 30th point with 10:34 left in the half. They hit 40 with 7:27 left on the clock. Another Lowe layup put them over 50 with 4:44 remaining, and UK went into the halftime locker room with a 58-26 advantage.

It was the most points yet in a half in Mark Pope’s tenure as Kentucky’s coach.

The second half was merely a formality.

For the game, six Wildcats scored in double figures.

Freshman center Malachi Moreno led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in just his second college game. Moreno, who also had three assists, is the reigning Kentucky Mr. Basketball.

Otega Oweh had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Collin Chandler scored 14 points and went 4 for 8 from 3-point range, adding five rebounds and four assists. Mouhamed Dioubate tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Brandon Garrison put up 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Aberdeen also had 12 points and four rebounds.

Lowe finished with six points, five assists and no turnovers in 18 minutes.

Lowe, who injured his right (non-shooting) shoulder in UK’s Blue-White Game on Oct. 17, missed both of the team’s exhibition games, and the season opener against Nicholls earlier in the week.

Pope teased in his weekly press conference Thursday that Lowe was on track to make his Kentucky debut against the Beacons, and he announced on his pregame radio show that the junior point guard would come off the bench for this game.

Now that Lowe is back on the court, he’s expected to be the Wildcats’ starting point guard moving forward, though Chandler has impressed in his first two games as a starter — he had a career-high 15 points against Nicholls — and Aberdeen and Oweh are the other backcourt starters. Dioubate and Garrison are UK’s starters in the frontcourt.

Chandler started the second half against the Beacons, with Lowe once again coming off the bench.

Still, the victory over Valpo gave Kentucky fans a better look at the core of this team. For now, at least.

Sophomore big man Jayden Quaintance — a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft — is still recovering from a torn ACL and is working toward a return to the court later this season. UK was also playing without sophomore forward Trent Noah on Friday night.

Noah started the regular-season opener — suffering an ankle injury in that game — but is expected to play a reserve role for the Cats.

When is the next Kentucky basketball game?

The first marquee game on UK’s 2025-26 schedule is next, with the Wildcats traveling to Louisville for the annual rivalry matchup with the 11th-ranked Cardinals in the Yum Center. The game is set for 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Pat Kelsey’s Cards are off to a 2-0 start after blowout wins over South Carolina State (104-45) and Jackson State (106-70) this week. U of L has gone 10 deep in each of its first two games, with returning forward Khani Rooths leading the team with 18.0 points per game.

McDonald’s All-American point guard Mikel Brown Jr. — a possible top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft — is averaging 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Kentucky has won 14 of its past 17 meetings with the Cardinals.