Highlights, MVP, and Twitter reactions to Kentucky Wildcats’ fun win vs. Texas Tech

On Friday, No. 23 Kentucky Basketball played its second exhibition game of the 2026-27 season. This time, it was Grant McCasland and the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders coming to Rupp Arena.

One week ago, the Little Rock Trojans came to town, and Kentucky left with an ugly victory in which it won by 20. Heading into the matchup with the Red Raiders, we knew the Cats would need a much more complete performance to win. This is a Texas Tech program that literally goes by the saying, “Toughest team wins,” so it wouldn’t be easy no matter who is on the court. 

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Texas Tech entered the contest without its best player, JT Toppin, who tore his ACL in February during Big 12 play last year for the Red Raiders, with a target to return in December of this year. The Red Raiders certainly didn’t lack college basketball experience. Texas Tech is among the teams benefiting the most from the 2022 athletes fighting to gain an extra year of eligibility and be part of the new 5-for-5 in the sport.

That said, Kentucky found itself down early and struggling with ball security against the feisty bunch from Lubbock. The Wildcats ramped it up on both ends, turning that deficit into a 4-point lead going into the break. Overall, it was a roller coaster of a game for the fans, but it resulted in a 76-65 victory for Kentucky.

Outside of the cold and turnover-heavy start to the game, the Cats played well, giving Big Blue Nation something to enjoy as we head into the weekend: A feel-good win.

Observations

Take care of the ball. It may sound obvious, but this team has to protect the ball. Early in this one, the Cats once again experienced a turnover fest, similar to the one against Little Rock. Kentucky had seven turnovers in the first 11 minutes of action, and found themselves trailing.

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Then, as the Cats started to take care of it, the score moved in the home team’s favor. For the rest of the first half, there were no turnovers, and the scoreboard showed a drastically different…

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Publish date : 2026-10-24 01:31:00

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