Mark Pope promised another big-name exhibition opponent and delivered as UK will host Georgetown. (Vicky Graff Photo)
After it was announced that Kentucky would play Purdue, a potential No. 1 team going into next season, in an exhibition game Oct. 24 in Rupp Arena, UK coach Mark Pope teased that another major team was also on the exhibition watch list.
Wednesday it was confirmed that Pope was not joking. Kentucky will also host the Georgetown Hoyas in Rupp Arena on Oct. 30. Game times and television designations will be announced at a later date for both exhibition games.
Compare that to last season when UK played Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota State in preseason exhibition games. Or go back to the 2023-24 season when the exhibition game opponents were Georgetown College and Kentucky State.
NCAA rules now permit Division I programs to play in the preseason to set up marquee exhibition games like these and the games do not count toward official records or statistics.
Ed Cooley is in his third year as the Georgetown coach. The Hoyas went only 9-23 in his first season but improved to 18-16 last season. Junior Malik Mack started 32 games last year and is the Hoyas’ leading returning scorer at 12.9 points per game. He made a team-high 59 3-pointers and shot 35.5 percent from long range.
Kentucky’s conference schedule will not be announced until later in the summer but the non-conference schedule is loaded with big-time opponents.
Games that have been confirmed along with the two exhibition games are:
Nov. 11: vs. Louisville at Louisville
Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State at Champions Classic (New York)
Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga at Nashville
Dec. 13: vs. Indiana at Rupp Arena
Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s at CBS Sports Classic (Atlanta)
Dec. 23: vs. Bellarmine at Rupp Arena
TBD: vs. NC Central at Rupp Arena
4 Responses
Playing Purdue and Georgetown in exhibition games will provide invaluable feedback on what works and what needs work before regular season play begins, even if we go 0-2 in exhibition play. This will have the team much better prepared to play Louisville which I view as a need to win game. Playing at Louisville will have us better prepared to play Michigan State the following week, another need to win game.
Oh gracious. Win ’em all! GO CATS!
I wish that could happen Kathy, but not likely. I don’t see this team being a double digit lost team, even if a couple of injuries happen again. We are loaded at every position.
Pope needs to stop bemoaning the loss of Perry. Perry would have been the player that would have seen the least amount of playing time if he had stayed at Kentucky. He was exposed as a defensive liability and never found his offensive game. Apparently, Coach Beard of Ole Miss thinks he can coach up Perry’s defensive skills and will give him more freedom to find his offensive game. It was the right move for Perry to make. Coach Pope needs to accept that when a player gets recruited over like Perry did, they most likely will look for a better opportunity elsewhere. I wish Travis well and Kentucky is solid at the point spot with Lowe, Aberdeen, and Chandler as an insurance guy. Pope needs to focus on who he has, not who he lost. He also needs to focus more on being a coach instead of being a cool guy that is everyone’s buddy. Kentucky is loaded for the 2025/26 season. Pope needs to identify the 5 guys who are the most productive as a starting 5, then make sure that the next group of 5 understands their roles as backups. That leaves 3 other guys, possibly 4, who will not play much unless there is an injury to someone higher up the totem pole. Kentucky’s starting 5 is better than last year’s starting 5. Their next 5 is better than last year’s next 5. The 3/4 insurance guys are capable of being in the next group of 5 and will give Kentucky a cushion to fall on should injuries become a problem at any position. He didn’t have that last year. Pope needs to focus on playing against Perry next season instead of pining over his departure. Anything short of a Final 4 appearance will be viewed as underachieving by Big Blue Nation. Winning national title No. 9 could happen, but it will be expected in 2026/27. I think Pope can live up to these expectations, but only if he and his staff focus on being the best they can be.