Kentucky didn’t just beat Hofstra to end the calendar year.
Kentucky erased them.
The Wildcats closed 2025 with an 80–42 win that felt like less of a game and more like a reminder that this program has changed tiers under Kenny Brooks.
And that’s the larger point now: this isn’t a “nice start” story anymore. Kentucky is stacking evidence. The win pushed the Cats to 13–1, and the profile is starting to look like something the bracket will have to respect.
Kenny Brooks has built a team that plays grown-up basketball
Brooks teams tend to reveal themselves in the same places: shot quality, defensive effort, and whether the ball sticks.
Against Hofstra, the ball didn’t stick. Kentucky finished with 27 assists on 31 made baskets, which is the kind of ratio you usually see from teams that already know who they are.
Brooks said it plainly afterward: the assists are proof that Kentucky is unselfish, that the ball moves, and that the team is playing the game “the right way.”
That isn’t coach-speak. It’s identity.
Clara Strack is the loudest “we’re different now” signal
If you watched the Hofstra game and only remembered one thing, it should be the way Clara Strack turned the paint into a no-fly zone.
Strack posted 24 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks, and her impact went beyond the box score. Her presence changes decisions. Players see her, hesitate, and suddenly Kentucky’s perimeter defense looks better because the rim is protected by a problem.
That is what elite teams have: a “solve this” player.
The ranking talk is real because the resume is real
Kentucky is sitting inside the national conversation now. The Wildcats are ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25, number 12 in the coaches poll, and number 7 in the NET rankings. They’re building the kind of body of work that translates into seeding leverage.
That matters because the difference between being a 4-seed and being a 2-seed isn’t just ego. It’s geography. It’s comfort. It’s hosting. It’s the path.
Kentucky fans already understand how Memorial Coliseum can turn into a weapon when the stakes rise. Hosting early rounds is not a luxury—it’s an advantage programs chase on purpose.
The LSU game is the real measuring stick for Kentucky, and that’s good news
The best part about where Kentucky sits right now is that there’s no need to squint and imagine what this team could be. We’re about to find out.
Brooks and the Wildcats head to face LSU on Thursday, and that game is the kind that sharpens a contender.
It will test Kentucky’s poise, physicality, and ability to execute when the opponent has equal athletes and louder home energy. It will also test whether Kentucky’s defensive ceiling is as high as it looks when Strack is anchoring the back line.
And if Kentucky passes that test, or even just looks like it belongs in that environment, the “nice season” language should be retired.
This is starting to look like a team capable of a deep March run.