Mo Dioubate said it on Monday, BBN has been begging for it since Jayden Quaintance made his debut appearance for the Cats against St. John's. Well, it looks like tonight, Mo and BBN are going to get their wish granted. KSR is reporting that Mark Pope will change his starting lineup.
Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe enter the starting lineup for Kentucky Basketball
News broke about 30 minutes ago that Mark Pope would be making Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe starters, and you could hear the roar from Lexington to Williamsburg. People have been begging Pope to play his best players.
No hope in Mark Pope anymore. He refuse to do the easy, basketball decision making
— Josh Burton (@heelJB) January 3, 2026
-Start your best lineup
-Make in game adjustments when stuff isn’t working
-Work the refs like all great coaches do
Show some damn fire
-Play your best players 30+ mins
He doesn’t have “IT”
I just don’t understand why mark pope keeps this starting lineup in. Start the best lineup!!!
— Alex Ware (@AlexWare38) January 3, 2026
Well, you will get your wish tonight. Fresh off a crushing defeat to Alabama, where Dioubate said they did not take it seriously enough, Kentucky will be battling Missouri in a game that they are double-digit favorites in and must win. They will do so with a new starting 5.
Against Alabama, Quaintaince played a season high 24 minutes, finishing with 5 points and 6 rebounds. His previous high was 17 minutes in the debut against St. John's. So, even with the start, I would not expect to see him garner too many more minutes than he got down in Tuscaloosa Saturday.
Jaland Lowe is nursing his shoulder, and letting people how limited he actually is:
"I don't know if ya'll notice on TV as much or in-person, but sometimes when you're on the court, you can realize that I'm not doing some things that I would love to do in the moment, just as a competitor and a fighter, I can't do some of those things, I have to pull back sometimes just to not put myself at a huge risk."
When you have to think before playing, it is going to impact you. He is coming with an 8-16 performance, his second straight game above 50%, which are the only 2 games of the season he has seen that shooting mark beside his name. He also played 27 minutes, the second most of the season behind his debut game, Louisville, where he played 30 minutes.
Mark Pope is very particular about his rotations; he likes his analytics, and starting does not automatically mean they will get the most minutes. But at least for a few moments, BBN will be able to bask in the knowledge that their coach is finally starting his best 5 players.
Now we just have to wait to see if it actually makes a difference. The Cats and Tigers get started at 7 PM on ESPN2.