LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington’s University of Kentucky men’s basketball team dropped its first game of the season Tuesday night, falling 89-69 to No. 15 Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. The 24th-ranked Wildcats are now 2-1 and Kansas improved to 3-0. The Wildcats had not played outside Rupp Arena before this trip, and the crowd was announced at 18,891.
Kentucky began well, hitting its first five shots and building a 10-5 lead, but Kansas answered with a 9-0 run and led 46-36 at halftime. The Jayhawks opened the second half on a 13-5 surge to stretch the margin to 59-41, their biggest of the night, and outscored the Wildcats 43-33 after the break. Kansas’ Tyran Stokes, rated the top recruit in the country, finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Tre White scored 30.
Zoom Diallo led Kentucky with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. His three 3-pointers were a career high, and it was his first 20-point game in a Kentucky uniform. Malachi Moreno added 19 points, a career best, plus 10 rebounds and five assists, with 17 of the points coming after halftime. Braydon Hawthorne blocked three shots, the most by a Wildcat this season, and Kentucky’s six blocks as a team were also a season best.
The outside shot was the difference. After making 22 3-pointers over its first two games combined, Kentucky went 4-of-21 from long range in Chicago. The Wildcats also turned the ball over 15 times, and Kansas scored 22 points off those miscues while Kentucky scored none off Kansas’ 10 turnovers. The Jayhawks held a 40-35 rebounding edge and a 38-32 advantage in the paint.
The loss was Kansas’ third straight in the series against Kentucky, which still leads the all-time series 24-13 after 37 meetings. Kentucky is 6-10 all-time in the Champions Classic. The Wildcats return to Rupp Arena on Friday to host Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. ET, with the game on SEC Network+.