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Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope reacts to March Madness loss
Following a 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament, Kentucky coach Mark Pope expressed pride for his players. “We’ll be talking about these guys 10 years from now,” Pope.
- The Wildcats’ 2025-26 schedule includes exhibition contests against Purdue and Georgetown and games against Louisville, Michigan State, Gonzaga and St. John’s.
- UK is expected to host an ACC opponent for the ACC/SEC Challenge.
- Nonconference opponents UK has yet to officially confirm include Indiana, Bellarmine and North Carolina Central.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball will host a pair of high-profile exhibitions at Rupp Arena before coach Mark Pope’s second season officially tips off.
UK announced Wednesday it will welcome Georgetown to Lexington for a preseason exhibition Oct. 30. That contest will be less than a week after another exhibition at Rupp: Big Ten power Purdue will square off with Kentucky on Oct. 24.
The Wildcats’ 2025-26 slate still is being pieced together.
But a handful of games have been confirmed by UK, per the schedule on the team’s official website.
It’s a schedule that includes matchups against in-state rival Louisville (at the KFC Yum! Center on Nov. 11), Michigan State (in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 18), Gonzaga (in Nashville on Dec. 5) and St. John’s, facing former UK and U of L coach Rick Pitino in a CBS Sports Classic clash in Atlanta on Dec. 20.
After hosting Miami in 2023 and traveling to Clemson last year, Kentucky likely will welcome an ACC foe to Lexington for this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge.
Other nonconference games that have been reported, but not yet verified by UK, are Indiana (Dec. 13 at Rupp, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein), Bellarmine (Dec. 23 at Rupp, according to Rothstein) and North Carolina Central (at Rupp on a date to be determined, per Rothstein).
The SEC will reveal the league slate for the 2025-26 campaign at a later date.
- Oct. 24: exhibition vs. Purdue (Rupp Arena), Time TBA
- Oct. 30: exhibition vs. Georgetown (Rupp Arena), Time TBA
- Nov. 11: at Louisville (KFC Yum! Center), Time TBA
- Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York)
- Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena; Nashville)
- Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta)
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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