One take from Kentucky basketball’s 96-88 loss at Louisville
Otega Oweh, and to a lesser extent Jaland Lowe, never truly made their presence felt for the Wildcats in the loss to the Cards.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball has never taken on Eastern Illinois.
That changes tonight, as the Wildcats welcome the Panthers to Rupp Arena.
UK, which is No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Top 25, seeks to shake off a loss in its most recent outing: a 96-88 road setback to in-state rival Louisville on Tuesday.
Stream Kentucky vs. Eastern Illinois
Kentucky and coach Mark Pope enter tonight’s matchup 2-1 this season after opening with victories over Nicholls and Valparaiso.
EIU is 1-2, falling to Valparaiso and Notre Dame but notching a win against Nicholls.
The Panthers are led by coach Marty Simmons, who has a 41-87 overall record in his fourth season with the program. He has a 225-262 record as a Division I coach after going 184-175 in 11 seasons at his alma mater, Evansville. Simmons also had head-coaching stints at SIU Edwardsville (when it still was a Division II school) and Wartburg College (a Division III program in Waverly, Iowa).
In the Ohio Valley Conference’s preseason poll, Eastern Illinois was picked to finish 10th in the 11-team league in 2025-26. Since moving up to Division I in 1981, the Panthers have reached the NCAA Tournament only twice, with their most recent appearance occurring in 2001.
Here’s what you need to know to follow today’s game between the Wildcats and Panthers from home:
UK and Eastern Illinois are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. today at Rupp Arena.
The game between the Wildcats and Panthers will not air on a traditional television channel.
Instead, it will be streamed live on SEC Network+, a complementary digital platform to the linear SEC Network run by ESPN.
Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network+ via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Stream Kentucky basketball’s game vs. Eastern Illinois on SEC Network+
Betting odds: Kentucky is a 38 ½-point favorite (-115) on DraftKings, which set the over/under at 150 ½ points (-115).
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.
You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
