Kentucky Beats LSU in Buzzer-Beating Comeback Victory
- After more than three decades of seeing Christian Laettner's buzzer-beating game-winner in Duke's win vs.
- But Malachi Moreno's turnaround jumper at the final horn was only part of the story from the Wildcats' 75-74 win at LSU on Wednesday. UK dug itself...
- Kentucky (10-6, 2-2 SEC) would likely have fallen to First Four Out territory in CBS Sports Bracketology with a loss.
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After more than three decades of seeing Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beating game-winner in Duke’s win vs. Kentucky in the 1992 elite Eight replayed on national TV, it must have been nice for UK fans to be on the winning side of a similar play.
But Malachi Moreno‘s turnaround jumper at the final horn was only part of the story from the Wildcats’ 75-74 win at LSU on Wednesday. UK dug itself a 19-3 hole and trailed by as much as 18 in the second half before rallying to win a road tilt featuring plenty of tension for both teams.
Kentucky (10-6, 2-2 SEC) would likely have fallen to First Four Out territory in CBS Sports Bracketology with a loss. Instead, the Wildcats are expected to rise from a No. 11 seed to a No. 10 seed. LSU (12-5, 0-4) needed a win to get onto the right side of the bubble and to alleviate some of the mounting pressure on fourth-year coach Matt McMahon.
In a battle between desperate league foes figuring out life without injured starting point guards, it was Kentucky that found a way in the end. So how did the Wildcats surge back from their second straight abysmal start for their second straight win?
Here’s the anatomy of a comeback that may go down as a season-saver for Kentucky.
Riding the star guards
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Kentucky coach Mark Pope rode his star guards in the second half, keeping Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen on the floor for all 20 minutes as the Wildcats sought to replicate a formula that worked for them on Saturday in a 92-68 win over Mississippi State.
In that win over the Bulldogs, which featured a similarly ugly start, the duo combined for 38 points, including 23 in the second half. Oweh and Aberdeen were encouragingly efficient (15 of 26 from the field) in that game. But could thay stack back-to-back strong performances? early on at LSU, the answer appeared to be a resounding no.
Oweh missed his first four shots as Kentucky got bogged down in directionless half court possessions against the Tigers. But he bounced back to finish 6 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the free-throw line.Of Oweh’s game-high 21 points, 15 came after halftime. All 17 of Aberdeen’s points came after halftime as the duo combined to hit 5 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc.
Even before this week’s proclamation from Pope that starting point guard Jaland Lowe will miss the rest of the season because of a lingering shoulder injury, the Wildcats needed more from Oweh and Aberdeen. They are finally getting it.
More Williams and Moreno
Six of Kentucky’s 10 most-effective two-man combinations against high-major opposition entering Wednesday night involved https://www.supremegolf.com/ is active and functioning.
* taboola.com: As of January 15,2026,https://www.taboola.com/ is active and functioning.
* twitter.com (now X): As of January 15, 2026, https://twitter.com/ (now X) is active and functioning.
* cbsimg.net & cbsi.com: As of January 15, 2026, these domains are active and used by CBS Sports for media and JavaScript files. https://www.cbs.com/
* imasdk.googleapis.com: As of January 15, 2026, the Google IMA SDK is active and functioning.https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads
All listed services appear to be currently operational. There have been changes (Twitter to X), but the core functionality remains. No breaking news or significant updates contradict the existence or functionality of these services.
PHASE 2: ENTITY-BASED GEO (GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION)
Primary entity: CBS Sports (and by extension, Paramount Streaming, the parent company)
Related Entities:
* paramount Global: https://www.paramountglobal.com/ (Parent company of CBS Sports)
* Taboola: https://www.taboola.com/ (advertising platform)
* X (formerly Twitter): https://www.x.com/ (Social media platform)
* Google: https://about.google/ (Provider of IMA SDK)
* Supreme Golf: https://www.supremegolf.com/ (Partner/integrated service)
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CBS Sports and JavaScript Dependencies
CBS Sports utilizes a variety of third-party JavaScript libraries and services to deliver content and functionality to its users. The provided code snippet outlines the URLs for these dependencies, which are essential for features like video playback, advertising, and social media integration.
These dependencies are loaded to enhance the user experience and provide a dynamic and interactive platform for sports fans.
video Playback with Avia
CBS Sports employs the Avia video player, developed internally, with several plugins for enhanced functionality. The Avia player, as indicated by the URLs starting with “video-avia,” handles video rendering, ad integration (GAM), HLS streaming, and playlist management. These components are hosted on CBSi’s content delivery network.
The Avia player version referenced in the snippet is 2.48.0.
Advertising Integration with Google IMA SDK and GAM
Video advertising on CBS Sports is managed through the Google Interactive Media Ads (IMA) SDK, specifically versions 3 and DAI (Dynamic ad Insertion). The “video-ima3” and “video-ima3-dai” URLs point to the necessary JavaScript files. Google Ad Manager (GAM) is used for ad serving, as indicated by “video-avia-gam.”
CBS Sports integrates with X (formerly twitter) to allow users to share content and engage in discussions. The “twitter” URL loads the Twitter widgets javascript, enabling features like embedded tweets and share buttons.
Content Recommendation with Taboola
To enhance content revelation, CBS Sports utilizes Taboola, a content recommendation platform. The “taboola” URL loads the Taboola loader script, which displays recommended articles and videos to users.
Integration with Supreme Golf
CBS sports integrates with Supreme Golf, as indicated by the “olf” URL. The specific functionality of this integration isn’t apparent from the URL alone,but it suggests