Oct 30, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope calls out to his players during the first half against the Georgetown Hoyas at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Preview: #9 Kentucky's matchup with Valparaiso

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Nov 7, 2025 2:29 PM ET

Game two of the 2025-26 season is coming up this evening for the Kentucky Wildcats as they are set to host Valparaiso in Rupp Arena. The good news for the Wildcats is that point guard Jaland Lowe will be making his season debut this evening.

Kentucky's offense has struggled at times during the exhibition games and the first half against Nicholls on Tuesday, so the hope is that the return of Lowe will get the offense running like a well-oiled machine.

If the offense is better, the Wildcats should win this game in blowout fashion, which will give the team confidence heading into the matchup against Louisville on Tuesday, the 11th.

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Otega Oweh has struggled at times this season and not looked like himself. He is still getting back to 100% from his turf toe, and the hope is that this game will get Oweh back to looking like himself.

The analytics don't seem to like this Valpo team all that much, so this should be a perfect get-right game before one of the biggest games of the season.

If the offense gets flowing with Lowe in the lineup against Valpo, this would be a big boost for the Wildcats heading into the Louisville game.

Here is what Coach Pope had to say about this Valpo team, "Good team. Includes a ton of pace; they really try to hurt you in transition. They're so aggressive on the offensive glass. I think they had 16 offensive rebounds in their opener. Their offense rebound rate was close to 35%. They're, they're really great in transition. They really go with the glass. They have some physicality to them, bigs that can make plays. They're kind of a little bit of a Gonzaga vibe in the way they play, the pace they play with, some of the basic actions that they run, their transition continuity is very similar. And so it'll be a great game. It should be a really fun game. It's going to be a physical, competitive game."

Let's take a look at how to watch Kentucky's matchup with Valparaiso.

How to watch #9 Kentucky take on Valparaiso

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats will tip off against Valparaiso at 7:00 pm ET this evening, and this game can be watched on SECN+. Including this game against Valpo, the Wildcats have four remaining games on SECN+, so Big Blue Nation might need to get it if they don't currently have access.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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