Head coach Mark Pope of the Kentucky men’s basketball team revealed the squad’s 2024–25 non-conference schedule on Wednesday.
The team’s 13-game non-conference schedule consists of three neutral-site games, one away game at Clemson, and nine home games at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
A later announcement will include the Southeastern Conference schedule, TV networks, and game times.
Following two yet-to-be-determined exhibition games, the Cats will begin their home schedule facing Wright State on November 4 and Bucknell on November 9. They will then head to Atlanta to compete against Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic on November 12.
The Wildcats will host the BBN Invitational, featuring games against Lipscomb (November 19), Jackson State (November 22), and WKU (November 26). The match against Jackson State will be the fourth edition of the Unity Series, a game intended to raise awareness and funds for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Kentucky will conclude November with a home game against Georgia State on November 29 before embarking on a two-game road trip. They will first participate in the SEC/ACC Challenge at Clemson on December 3, followed by a game against Gonzaga in Seattle on December 7.
In December, the Cats will play three additional home games, facing Colgate on December 11, Louisville on December 14, and Brown on December 31. Their final non-conference away game is against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in New York on December 21.
Kentucky basketball will encounter four first-time opponents: Brown, Bucknell, Colgate, and Jackson State. Overall, the Wildcats will face 13 teams that reached the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament a total of 15 times, including five teams that made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Coach Pope and his staff have assembled a dynamic roster for the 2024-25 season, featuring six fifth-year players, one senior, one junior, one sophomore, and three freshmen. The veterans have collectively played in 845 collegiate games and scored nearly 8,000 career points. Notable players include Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams, all of whom are 1,000-point scorers. The team has also made 1,033 career 3-pointers at a 37.0% rate.
Butler and Williams were named their league’s defensive players of the year. Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson have been honored as their conference’s sixth man of the year, and Almonor was recognized as the most improved player. Brandon Garrison is a former McDonald’s All-American. Kerr Kriisa has played 99 career games and made 238 3-pointers, while Otega Oweh, Oklahoma’s second-leading scorer last season, has seen action in 60 games.
The freshmen include Travis Perry and Trent Noah from Kentucky and Collin Chandler, a former top-35 signee in the class of 2022. Perry is Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer, and Noah set the Sweet 16 state record for most 3-pointers in a single run with 19 this season.