Kentucky officially started their 2025-26 campaign last night with a home opener against Nicholls. The Wildcats struggled offensively in the first half but managed to get things going in the second half, thanks to some help from Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, and Jasper Johnson.

The real story of the first half was when Kentucky sophomore, Trent Noah, went down with an apparent ankle injury. Noah had to be helped off of the floor and back into the locker room for further evaluation by the medical staff.

He later returned to the floor before the second half and was seen actively cheering on the bench for the rest of his teammates, showcasing he was no longer in immense pain. He never checked back in but it was clear he was ready to if called upon.

Mark Pope gave us a status update on Trent during the post game press conference:

“One of the assistants came up to me at the end of the first half or maybe the beginning of the second half and said Trent is good to go. I told them ‘That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.’ Trent is one of the toughest kids I’ve ever met and he was clearly expressing he was in pain. (And) He never shows that.”

He continued with, “I went and talked to Brandon Wells and asked him if he was good to go and he stated yes, that they did test him.”

Said that Brandon Wells (Senior Athletic Trainer) said, “Trent was able to run and he said he is feeling fine.”

Pope then said, “I said well Trent Noah is a liar (crowd laughs). I know Noah is a tough kid but I’m glad we didn’t have to put him back in because we have to get him healthy because he is a crucial part of this team.”

Here is Pope’s full press conference if you want to watch it all for yourself.

Kentucky has already been bitten by the injury bug early into this season. With injuries to Jayden Quaintance (last season), Jaland Lowe (shoulder), Denzel Aberdeen (leg), and now Trent Noah (ankle), there have been a lot of scares and we’ve only had one official game. The goal for this coaching staff has to be to try to survive some of the first non-conference games and keep these guy healthy all the way through to conference play.

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