By Canadian Press on January 7, 2026.
Missouri Tigers (11-3, 1-0 SEC) at Kentucky Wildcats (9-5, 0-1 SEC) Lexington, Kentucky; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Kentucky hosts Missouri after Otega Oweh scored 22 points in Kentucky’s 89-74 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Wildcats are 8-1 in home games. Kentucky ranks eighth in the SEC with 26.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Mouhamed Dioubate averaging 4.0. The Tigers are 1-0 in conference play. Missouri is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points. Kentucky’s average of 8.4 made 3-pointers per game is 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 9.7 per game Missouri allows. Missouri has shot at a 51.4% clip from the field this season, 11.6 percentage points higher than the 39.8% shooting opponents of Kentucky have averaged. The Wildcats and Tigers square off Wednesday for the first time in conference play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Collin Chandler averages 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 8.8 points while shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc. Oweh is shooting 46.4% and averaging 15.4 points over the past 10 games. Mark Mitchell is averaging 16.9 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Tigers. Jacob Crews is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 6-4, averaging 80.7 points, 34.5 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 8.3 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points per game. Tigers: 7-3, averaging 79.9 points, 32.3 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.4 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 16