Takeaways from Kentucky's 78-77 win against Northern Arizona

After an embarrassing loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Kentucky badly needed a feel-good win on Friday as they took on Northern Arizona in Rupp Arena. They really needed to look good, or the vibes heading into the Indiana game next Friday could be even worse than what they are right now. It was an eventful win for the Wildcats.

In the first half, Northern Arizona gave the Wildcats all they could handle, up until late in the half when Kentucky started forcing turnovers and taking advantage of that, pulling away up by as much as 13 thanks to those miscues and their 62% shooting, before the Lumberjacks then hit some big shots in the final minute to cut it to an eight-point halftime lead for Kentucky. Then in the second half, Northern Arizona used an 11-0 run thanks to a five minute scoring drought by Kentucky to take 51-49 lead with 13:35 left. Kentucky needed to pull away, but Northern Arizona hung with them from then on, ending up with a four-point lead with 18 seconds left. Kentucky made a bucket with 13.9 left, making it a two-point game. Then, Northern Arizona missed their free throw, and the rebound slipped right out of Malachi Moreno's hands, giving it right back with nine seconds left. From there, another missed free throw allowed Alex Wilkins to come up big just like he did against UCF, with a corner three to take a 78-77 lead with two seconds left, ultimately giving them the win.

ALEX WILKINS OMG😱

Clutch three to give Kentucky the late lead against 30-point underdog NAU! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rncMluJxtH
— ESPN (@espn) November 14, 2026

Alex Wilkins saves Kentucky (and Mark Pope's) season

If Kentucky lost this one, it would have changed their season trajectory in a big way and put Mark Pope in a very, very uncomfortable spot. Now, thanks to Alex Wilkins, that "L" is not next to this game on the schedule. There wasn't really anything to build on from what we've seen over the last two games, but what we do know is that Wilkins just saved Kentucky from a position that they definitely did not want to be in. The boos rang late from their own fans, but Alex Wilkins helped them breathe a sigh of relief.

Defense was bad all game

Again, other than pulling out the win, there isn't many positives at all to take away from this matchup. A big reason for Kentucky's struggles was defense, because even when Kentucky had its runs, Northern Arizona was able to come right back and continue to make it interesting, as they never went away, making it hard for the Wildcats up until the final buzzer. What really hurt Kentucky throughout the game was their paint defense. They had no answer for their bigs when they switched on defense and then, in the final few minutes, it was Northern Arizona's big-time shot-making from their guards that gave Kentucky the scare. The Lumberjacks finished with 26 paint points, winning 32-20 on the boards, 11 second-chance points, and eight points off turnovers.

Kentucky just continued giving Northern Arizona opportunities, and thanks to Alex Wilkins, they dodged a season, and probably program changing loss on Friday night.

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