Postgame: Kentucky Passes Its Texas Tech Test, 76-65, With Balance and Free Throws

POSTGAME: KENTUCKY 76, NO. 19 TEXAS TECH 65
No. 23 Kentucky beat No. 19 Texas Tech 76-65 at Rupp Arena on Friday night and moved to 2-0 in exhibition play. Five Cats finished in double figures: Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno scored 15 each, freshman Mason Williams added 14 off the bench, Alex Wilkins had 13 and Ousmane N'Diaye had 10.

How it turned
Texas Tech led 25-18 in the first half before Kentucky ripped off a 15-0 run to go up 33-25 with 3:20 left in the half. The Cats took a 37-33 lead into the break on a Wilkins basket at the buzzer. Kentucky opened the second half with five straight points to lead 42-33, but the Red Raiders came back to tie it 54-54. Williams answered with a three, and the Cats went up 60-54. Wilkins' three made it 70-61 with 2:52 left, and Momcilovic's three pushed the lead to 73-63 with 1:45 to go.

The free-throw line was the difference
Kentucky made 19 of 22 free throws (86.4 percent). Texas Tech got to the line only six times and made five.

Our postgame Take: This was the test we asked for. Kentucky trailed a ranked team, gave up a second-half tie and still won by 11, with five scorers and a bench freshman carrying real minutes. The pregame worry was turnovers. The answer on Friday was balance, a 15-0 run and 19 made free throws.

Up next: Central Florida visits Rupp on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network for the final exhibition. The season opener against Manhattan is Nov. 3.

WHAT WE WATCHED FOR COMING IN
This was Kentucky's first look at a ranked opponent and the second of its three exhibitions, with a 7 p.m. ET tip on SEC Network+. The result doesn't count on either record, but for a roster Mark Pope keeps calling young, it was the most useful 40 minutes of October.

The Little Rock lesson
Kentucky opened the exhibition slate with a 69-49 win over Travis Ford's Little Rock team. Momcilovic led with 16 points and hit 4 of 7 from deep, Wilkins scored 11 and Williams added 10. The defense carried that night: Little Rock made only 2 of 20 threes, and UK piled up nine steals and eight blocks. The offense was messier, with 19 turnovers against 12 assists, many after Ford went to a full-court press.

How Pope framed it
Pope was clear that October is about development. "This is training camp time," he said Thursday. "If there's ever a time when growing almost measures up to winning, in terms of priority, it's right now." He called his group "young with a massive upside."

Who Texas Tech was without
The Red Raiders arrived shorthanded. First-team All-American J.T. Toppin, who tore his ACL last season, still wasn't cleared, and On3 reported Jamichael Stillwell's status was in doubt. Grant McCasland still brought a veteran, guard-heavy group: Darrion Williams, Cruz Davis, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and 6-foot-5 Donovan Atwell, who averaged 13.5 points a game last season, plus top-30 freshman guard Dakari Spear.

Pope vs. McCasland
Pope went 0-2 against McCasland in his final season at BYU, including a loss in Lubbock after BYU led by 16 at halftime. He called this a "perfect" exhibition matchup. "This Texas Tech team is a gravity team," he said. "They shoot the ball incredibly well, which means you have to guard in space."

The matchup we flagged
Texas Tech made 11.3 threes a game last season, according to BlueBook. Kentucky's answer was length: Moreno and Franck Kepnang are both listed at 7-0 and Reece Potter at 7-1. The question was whether those bigs could step out to shooters and still protect the rim. Moreno's 15 points and N'Diaye's 10 suggest the size held up.

Injury watch
Kam Williams (foot), Trent Noah (hamstring) and Jerone Morton (knee) did not play against Little Rock. As of Thursday, Williams and Noah were listed week-to-week, and Morton had no set return date.

Our Take: We said the score wouldn't matter and the turnovers would. Kentucky answered with balance and a 19-of-22 night at the line against a ranked opponent, the kind of growth Pope was looking for. The UCF exhibition on Oct. 28 is one more chance to clean up the ball security before Nov. 3.

Sources: UK Athletics, No. 23 Kentucky tops No. 19 Texas Tech (Oct. 23, 2026) · UK Athletics, Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Texas Tech · On3/KSR, Pope on Texas Tech · Sports Illustrated, what to know about Texas Tech · BlueBook, Texas Tech game day · ESPN Kentucky roster (heights) · 247Sports' Cole Parke on X (injury update)