Three reasons #9 Kentucky will fall to #1 Purdue in Friday's exhibition

The Kentucky Wildcats will kick off the 2025-26 basketball season on Friday with an exhibition against the Purdue Boilermakers, who are ranked as the #1 team in college basketball.

This is going to be a tough matchup for the Wildcats, but it will be in Rupp Arena, so the team will have Big Blue Nation cheering them on loudly.

Earlier, we put out an article listing three reasons why the Kentucky Wildcats will take down the Purdue Boilermakers. Now this article will be the opposite, listing three reasons why the Wildcats will lose at home to the #1 ranked Boilermakers.

Let's take a look at three reasons the Wildcats will lose this game to Purdue.

Three reasons Kentucky will lose to Purdue

Braden Smith goes off

Every college basketball fan knows who Braden Smith is, as Purdue's point guard is projected to win Player of the Year in college basketball. He is a player who, on any given night, is capable of scoring 20 points while dishing out ten assists. Stopping Smith doesn't just include him from scoring, it also means making sure he isn't feeding his teammates a lot of open looks. If Smith goes off in this game, it will be hard for the Wildcats to win.

The threes aren't falling for the Wildcats

Oct 11, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Kam Williams (3) competes in the three point contest during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Coach Pope has been clear that he wants this team to shoot the ball a lot this season from deep. Kentucky did not reach its threes per game goal last season, and Pope made note of this. Knowing Purdue has the best offense in college basketball, but their defense is questionable, it will be imperative that the Wildcats are hitting their threes. If Kentucky struggles from deep against this elite offensive team, it will not be easy for the Wildcats to win even at home.

The loss of Jaland Lowe is felt on offense

It feels safe to assume that Jaland Lowe, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, will not suit up in this exhibition game. This means that Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler will be playing a lot of point guard. On defense, this will be a boost for the Wildcats, but will these two be able to keep up on offense? Obviously, a lot of Kentucky's offense runs through the bigs, but the point guards still have a big role. Aberdeen and Chandler will need to play this role well, or Kentucky won't get the victory.