LEXINGTON, Ky. — No. 1 ranked Purdue came to Lexington Friday and fell to No. 9 Kentucky 78-65 in the first exhibition game of the 2025-2026 season.

Freshman Jasper Johnson scored 15 points, and Trent Noah and Otega Oweh both had 10. It was a good start to the season for the Cats, who were without starting point guard Jaland Lowe.

“We have a long way to go, we have so much work to do but in terms of one night for these guys to actually be in this for each other, that’s going to be the key,” said UK head coach Mark Pope. “We have a chance to be a good team.”

The Boilermakers got on the board first and had an early lead before Oweh scored five in a row to put the Cats up 8-5. The first half was filled with small runs by both teams, but Kentucky went on a 9-1 run with just over five minute

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