ESPN predicts the winner between #9 Kentucky and Valparaiso

After taking down Nicholls to move to 1-0 on the season, now Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to take on the Valparaiso Beacons. In their first game of the season, Valparaiso took down Eastern Illinois 66-63, with Isaiah Barnes leading the scoring, putting up 15 points.

This is a Valparaiso team that KenPom has ranked 288th overall, with the offense being ranked 272nd and the defense being ranked 286th. This means that statistically, Nicholls is much better than Valparaiso.

The goal for the Wildcats in this game is to come out early, firing on offense, which is something they did not do in the game against Nicholls on Tuesday. Hopefully, Jaland Lowe is on the floor for the Wildcats in this game, as fans believe that he is going to get the offense moving well.

Against Nicholls, the offense started very slowly for the Kentucky Wildcats with Collin Chandler running the point, but once Denzel Aberdeen checked in and Chandler was able to come off the ball, the offense started to get going.

Hopefully, Lowe and Aberdeen, both in the backcourt together, will lead to a better following offense. The Wildcats also need to get Otega Oweh going in this game, as he has not looked like himself. Oweh missed a big chunk of the offseason with an injury that kept him off the floor, and he seems rustier than fans would have imagined.

When Lowe, Aberdeen, and Oweh are all on the floor together at 100% playing good basketball, this backcourt is going to be very hard to stop.

Right now, ESPN does not think the Wildcats will have any kind of trouble taking down Valparaiso, as it gives Kentucky a 98.5% chance to get the win on Friday.

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

This will be the first Friday game of the season, and nothing gets Rupp Arena going quite like a Friday night game. The atmosphere should be great in this final tune-up game before Kentucky takes on the Louisville Cardinals in the KFC Yum Center.

The defense was dominant in the win over Nicholls for the Wildcats from start to finish, even while the offense was struggling, so this is something Coach Pope would love to see in this basketball game.

Hopefully, the Wildcats can put triple digits up on the scoreboard in this basketball game to show that the elite Pope offense fans are used to seeing is still here and isn't going anywhere.