Mark Story: Wichita State is a welcome add to a lackluster Kentucky men's hoops home non-league slate

Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader on Aug 19, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — If the Kentucky-Wichita State men’s basketball game at Rupp Arena on Nov. 27 lives up to the two previous meetings between the Wildcats and Shockers, then fans will watch a classic.

Word that WSU (24-12 last season) is the final addition to the 2026-27 UK men’s hoops schedule is welcome news. The Shockers will add some spice to what is, other than Louisville, a lackluster Kentucky home non-league slate.

UK and Wichita State have met only twice before. It feels like the Cats and Shockers share more hoops history than that because the two previous meetings have both been NCAA Tournament thrillers.

In 2014, Kentucky and WSU combined to play the best NCAA tourney game I have ever seen in person.

Gregg Marshall’s Shockers entered the round of 32 in St. Louis undefeated (35-0) and seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Region.

John Calipari’s youthful Wildcats — starting five true freshmen — brought a 25-10 mark into the contest.

On its first possession of the second half, Wichita State took a nine-point lead, 40-31, on a 3-pointer by Cleanthony Early.

Kentucky refused to buckle and took the lead for good, 73-71, on a James Young trey from right of the top of the key with 1:40 remaining.

One of the most-stirring NCAA tourney victories in UK’s regal men’s hoops history was not secured, however, until Wichita State point guard Fred VanVleet missed an open 3-pointer from the top of the key just ahead of the final buzzer, securing Kentucky’s 80-78 win.

If you want to understand how high the game’s level of play was, consider: Wichita State saw its undefeated season spoiled in a contest in which the Shockers shot 55% from the field and got a star-caliber performance of 31 points and seven rebounds from the 6-foot-8 Early.

Three years later and some 243 miles to the east in Indianapolis, UK and WSU hooked up in another NCAA Tournament classic, albeit one with an opposite competitive tenor to the offensively-adept 2014 meeting.

Kentucky’s 65-62 win over Wichita State in the 2017 round of 32 was a grinder from start to finish.

UK clinched victory by throwing a “block party” in the game’s final 14 seconds.

With the Cats up 63-62, Malik Monk blocked a potential go-ahead jumper by WSU’s Shaquille Morris with 14 seconds remaining.

Kentucky was ahead 65-62 when Bam Adebayo blocked what could have been a game-tying 3-pointer by WSU star guard Landry Shamet just ahead of the final buzzer.

Interestingly, the head coaches who presided over the two Kentucky-Wichita State NCAA Tournament meetings both met unhappy finishes at their schools.

In November 2020, Marshall resigned as Wichita State coach after the university had commissioned an investigation of alleged verbal abuse of players. Marshall stepped down as Wichita State’s all-time winningest coach (331-121 from 2007 through 2020). He led the Shockers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2013 run to the Final Four.

Conversely, Calipari’s Kentucky tenure just ran out of steam. In what became Calipari’s final four seasons from 2020-21 through 2023-24, UK went 1-4 in SEC Tournament contests and 1-3 in the NCAA tourney. After a round of 64 flame out against No. 14 seed Oakland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Calipari exiled himself to Arkansas.

Now, both Kentucky and Wichita State are trying to build back to the levels the respective programs occupied in the 2010s.

In 2026-27, Mark Pope (46-26 overall at UK, 20-16 SEC) will be in a critical third season as Calipari’s replacement.

Meanwhile, Paul Mills, who coached Oral Roberts on its March Madness Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 in 2021, will be in his fourth season as Wichita State head man.

In its prior three seasons under Mills, Wichita State has improved from 15 to 19 to 24 wins.

WSU projects to return 10 players from the team that went 24-12 last season and reached the finals of The American Conference Tournament and the quarterfinals of the NIT.

To a solid nucleus featuring 7-foot-2, 265-pound Swede Will Berg (averaged 8.8 points, 8.1 rebounds last season for WSU) and 6-5 redshirt sophomore wing TJ Williams (8.7 points, five rebounds), Wichita State has added well-regarded transfer guards in Jordan Frison (16.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, four assists, 55.7% FGs) from Chattanooga and Jahari Long (12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, four assists, 45.4% FGs) from George Mason.

The Shockers have also brought in former Evangel Christian big man Cyr Malonga from the transfer portal. The 6-11, 239-pound Molonga averaged 3.7 points and 2.5 boards last season for New Mexico State.

When the teams meet on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Wichita State should provide more-than-legitimate competition for Kentucky.

That would be welcomed by Rupp Arena’s ticket-buying patrons. Of the 10 non-league teams that UK will play at Rupp in 2026-27, only four — James Madison (18-15), Wichita State (24-12), Appalachian State (19-13 and Louisville (24-11) — had winning marks last season.

If the past between Kentucky and Wichita State serves as prologue for this season’s renewal, “Black Friday” at Rupp Arena will be a blast.

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