LEXINGTON — Kentucky men’s basketball returns to Rupp Arena tonight.
And for the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Wildcats will be led by a coach other than John Calipari.
First-year coach Mark Pope and UK’s new-look roster have their first preseason exhibition today, hosting in-state school Kentucky Wesleyan.
Pope, a Kentucky alum who was a team captain of the national-title-winning 1995-96 club, took over the program after spending the past five seasons at BYU. He will try to lead the Wildcats back to prominence in the NCAA Tournament; Kentucky hasn’t advanced out of the opening weekend since 2019, when it reached the Elite Eight.
The Panthers are a Division II program, located in Owensboro, that competes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Kentucky Wesleyan went 21-9 overall last season, posting a 15-5 mark in conference play to win the GMAC’s regular-season title. The program made national headlines last year when it upended Louisville, 71-68, in an exhibition at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Panthers’ eight national championships (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999 and 2001) are the most among Division II men’s basketball programs.
Drew Cooper is entering his seventh season as Kentucky Wesleyan’s coach, owning an 83-75 record during his tenure. Prior to his time at Kentucky Wesleyan, Cooper went 94-46 at Thomas More College in five seasons. He also served as an assistant at Bellarmine from 2007 to 2013, a period in which the program won the Division II national championship in 2011.
Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home:
UK and Kentucky Wesleyan are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. today at Rupp Arena.
The exhibition between the Wildcats and the Panthers will not air on a traditional TV channel.
Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+. Darren Headrick (play-by-play) and Cameron Mills (analyst) will have the call.
Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the exhibition contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Those without access to SEC Network+ can access coverage via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click here.)
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.
You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.
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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
