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Kentucky vs. Iowa State
No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 7 Kentucky 63
Kentucky’s postseason run came to an end Sunday as the Wildcats fell 82-63 to No. 2 seed Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Pregame Atmosphere
Big Blue Nation showed up once again, hoping there was more magic left in this Kentucky squad. While the crowd leaned heavily in favor of Iowa State, with the arena filled in Cyclone red and gold, the Wildcats looked poised and ready for the moment.
First Half
Kentucky came out firing.
Behind the early energy of Collin Chandler and Denzel Aberdeen—who combined for 14 of Kentucky’s first 20 points—the Wildcats jumped out to an early 11-point lead. But that early momentum quickly faded.
From that point on, the offense stalled. Kentucky managed just 10 more points for the remainder of the half as Iowa State chipped away and eventually surged ahead. A late three-pointer from Nate Heise gave the Cyclones a 31-30 lead heading into the break, capping a significant momentum shift.
Second Half
Any edge Kentucky had in the opening minutes disappeared after halftime.
Iowa State took control and never let go, stretching the lead to as many as 23 points. The Cyclones were powered by Milan Momcilovic, who finished with 20 points, and Tamin Lipsey, who led all scorers with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Kentucky, meanwhile, struggled to regain rhythm.
Otega Oweh closed out his collegiate career with 18 points, while Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20. But it wasn’t enough to overcome Iowa State’s second-half dominance.
Final Thoughts
The loss ends Kentucky’s season at 22-14, including a ninth-place finish in SEC play, and brings a close to a year that carried hopes of banner No. 9.
Now, the focus shifts to the offseason.
For head coach Mark Pope, the next chapter will be defining. With expectations always high in Lexington, this offseason looms as one of the most important of his tenure—and could ultimately shape the direction of the program moving forward.
