ESPN predicts the winner between Kentucky and Jackson State

Will Kentucky stay undefeated against Jackson State?

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope looked on as the Kentucky Wildcats took on the Lipscomb Bisons at Rupp Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal & USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are 4-0 on the season and will be looking to move to 5-0 with a win over Jackson State on Friday. The Wildcats blew out a solid Lipscomb team 97-68 on Tuesday in a game where the offense was firing on all cylinders. Jaxson Robinson led the Wildcats in scoring in this game with 20 points, which was a huge bounce back for the Kentucky star as he only scored one point against Duke.

The Wildcats are taking on a Jackson State team that is 0-5 on the season. The Tigers played Houston and lost 97-40. They played Xavier and lost this game 94-57. The Tiger's only other SEC matchup was against Vanderbilt, and the Commodores won this game 94-81. This means Jackson State does have some experience against good college basketball teams.

ESPN doesn't seem to think the Wildcats will have any kind of issue with the Tigers, as they give Mark Pope's team a 99% chance to win this basketball game.

The goal for Kentucky in this game should be to clean some things up. Lipscomb had a lot of open looks for deep that they weren't able to connect on, so Kentucky needs to clean up the defense a bit.

Kentucky has been about perfect on offense, so the goal on this end of the floor against Jackson State should be to keep the great ball movement and shot selection up. Kentucky shouldn't have any trouble taking care of business against Jackson State in Rupp Arena.