Brown (Kentucky's next opponent) just lost to Kansas by 34 and had a team captain transfer

Kentucky won’t play Brown for another week as the Wildcats are in the early stages of a 10-day break after losing to Ohio State over the weekend. But when the Bears do come to Rupp Arena next Tuesday on New Year’s Eve, they’ll be looking to shake off what has been a rough 24 hours for the program.

For starters, Brown traveled to Allen Fieldhouse for a matchup against Kansas on Sunday in Lawrence. Zeke Mayo dropped 25 points while Hunter Dickinson recorded a double-double in what was an 87-53 win for the Jayhawks. Brown kept it close in the opening stages, trailing by just one 10 minutes into the game, but it was an 11-point deficit at halftime which quickly turned ugly as Kansas went on to win by 34 points.

The result doesn’t shock anyone. Kansas was favored by more than two dozen points going into tipoff. But the blowout is a tough one to swallow for Brown, which was coming off a double-overtime upset over Rhode Island 12 days prior to that. Having Kentucky on deck next (talk about a rough two-game stretch) doesn’t make life any easier. To make matters worse? One head coach Mike Martin’s best players intends to transfer.

Nana Owusu-Anane, who has been sidelined all season long due to a left shoulder injury he suffered in the preseason, will enter his name into the transfer portal, On3’s Jamie Shaw reported on Monday morning. Owusu-Anane has not played this season, so this move won’t impact Brown in the immediate future against Kentucky, but losing a two-time team captain who had spent the previous three seasons with the Bears and was their second-leading scorer in 2023-24 is going to hurt no matter the situation.

Owusu-Anane was a Second Team All-Ivy League performer last season with averages of 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per outing. He flirted with the portal this past offseason before pulling his name and returning to Brown. But he’s once again had a change of heart and will likely have plenty of suitors in the portal.

What does this all mean for Kentucky? In regards to Owusu-Anane, next to nothing. However, Brown’s 34-point loss against Kansas is something the Big Blue Nation will understandably compare to how Kentucky performs against them next week, especially after the Wildcats’ 20-point loss to Ohio State up in New York City. Fans will be expecting a landslide victory going into 2025.

Kansas dropped two in a row earlier this month to Missouri and Creighton before responding to beat NC State and then smashing Brown. Meanwhile, Kentucky just laid the first true egg of the Mark Pope era. Their response against Brown following a lengthy holiday break will be nitpicked. KenPom projects a 21-point win for UK. It should be a perfect opportunity to fix some issues and re-inject the fans with more energy going into SEC play.