UK Men’s Basketball Schedule 2024-25
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team has set its 2024-25 non-conference schedule, head coach Mark Pope announced Wednesday. The 13-game non-conference schedule includes nine home games at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, one away game at Clemson and three neutral-court games.
The Southeastern Conference roster, along with television channels and game times, will be announced at a later date.
After a pair of exhibition games to be determined, the Cats will open the schedule at home against Wright State on Nov. 4 and Bucknell on Nov. 9, before traveling to Atlanta for a State Farm Champions Classic game against Duke on Nov. 12.
The Wildcats will host the BBN Invitational that includes Lipscomb (Nov. 19), Jackson State (Nov. 22) and WKU (Nov. 26). The game against Jackson State will also mark the fourth installment of the Unity Series.
For the past three seasons, UK has played a competition against a historically black university. The goal of the match is to raise awareness of the missions of HBCUs and raise funds to provide opportunities for students at their institutions.
Kentucky will close out November with a home game against Georgia State on Nov. 29 before hitting the road for back-to-back games. The first game will be the SEC/ACC Challenge at Clemson on Dec. 3, then the team will travel to the West Coast for a date with Gonzaga on Dec. 7 in Seattle.
The Cats will play three more home games in December, hosting Colgate (Dec. 11) and Brown (Dec. 31), as well as hometown opponent Louisville on Dec. 14. UK’s final non-conference away date is against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in New York on Dec. 21.
Kentucky will face four new opponents: Brown, Bucknell, Colgate and Jackson State. In total, the Wildcats will face 13 teams that have reached the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament 15 times. Kentucky will face five Sweet Sixteen teams from last year.
| Opponent | 2023-24 Review | Post-season | NET Final Ranking | Final ranking (AP/Coaches) | KenPom.com Final Standings | Series History | Last meeting |
| Alabama | 25-12 | NCAA Final Four | 9 | 3/4 | 14 | United Kingdom, 117-41 | UK won 117-95 on 24 February 2024 |
| Arkansas | 16-17 | — | 115 | -/- | 108 | United Kingdom, 36-14 | UK won 111-102 on 2 March 2024 |
| Auburn | 27-8 | NCAA First Round | 5 | 18/17 | 4 | United Kingdom, 98-23 | UK won 70-59 on 17 February 2024 |
| Brown | 13-18 | — | 177 | -/- | 191 | N / A | First meeting |
| Bucknell | 14-19 | — | 277 | -/- | 276 | N / A | First meeting |
| Clemson | 24-12 | NCAA Elite Eight | 35 | 14/15 | 19 | United Kingdom, 12-4 | UK won 76-61 on 29 November 1997 |
| Colgate | 25-10 | NCAA First Round | 125 | -/- | 150 | N / A | First meeting |
| Duke | 27-9 | NCAA Elite Eight | ten | 9/9 | 7 | United Kingdom, 12-11 | Duke won 79-71 on November 9, 2021 |
| Florida | 24-12 | NCAA First Round | 29 | VR/VR | 26 | United Kingdom, 110-42 | UF won 94-91OT is January. 31, 2024 |
| Georgia | 20-17 | NIT Semifinals | 100 | -/- | 84 | United Kingdom, 132-28 | UK won 105-96 on 20 January 2024 |
| State of Georgia | 14-17 | — | 222 | -/- | 218 | United Kingdom, 2-0 | UK won 73-46 on December 6, 2005 |
| Gonzaga | 27-8 | NCAA Sweet 16 | 17 | 15/16 | 12 | GU, 2-1 | GU won 89-85 on February 10, 2024 |
| Jackson State | 15-17 | — | 300 | -/- | 309 | N / A | First meeting |
| Lip ridge | 20-12 | — | 166 | -/- | 166 | United Kingdom, 2-0 | UK won 88-50 on 15 December 2012 |
| Louisville | 8-24 | — | 216 | -/- | 185 | United Kingdom, 39-17 | UK won 95-76 on 21 December 2023 |
| Louisiana State University | 17-16 | First round of the NIT | 94 | -/- | 95 | United Kingdom, 93-29 | LSU won 75-74 on February 21, 2024 |
| Mississippi State | 21-14 | NCAA First Round | 31 | -/- | 34 | United Kingdom, 103-21 | UK won 91-89 on 27 February 2024 |
| Missouri | 8-24 | — | 158 | -/- | 145 | United Kingdom, 15-3 | UK won 90-77 on 9 January 2024 |
| Ohio State | 22-14 | NIT Quarterfinals | 49 | -/- | 49 | United Kingdom, 11-10 | OSU won 71-65 on December 21, 2019 |
| Oklahoma | 20-12 | — | 46 | -/- | 46 | United Kingdom, 3-0 | UK won 76-64 on 22 November 2010 |
| Be miss | 20-12 | — | 90 | -/- | 86 | United Kingdom, 111-14 | UK won 75-63 on 13 February 2024 |
| Caroline from the south | 26-8 | NCAA First Round | 51 | 25/23 | 54 | United Kingdom, 54-15 | USC won 79-62 on January 23, 2024 |
| Tennessee | 27-9 | NCAA Elite Eight | 7 | 5/5 | 5 | United Kingdom, 161-77 | UK won 85-81 on 9 March 2024 |
| Texas | 21-13 | NCAA Second Round | 30 | VR/VR | 25 | United Kingdom, 2-0 | UK won 63-51 on 5 December 2014 |
| Texas A&M University | 21-15 | NCAA Second Round | 45 | VR/VR | 35 | United Kingdom, 13-6 | TAMU won 97-87 on March 15, 2024 |
| Vanderbilt | 9-23 | — | 202 | -/- | 183 | United Kingdom, 157-49 | UK won 93-77 on March 6, 2024 |
| Western Kansas University | 22-12 | NCAA First Round | 136 | -/- | 135 | United Kingdom, 5-2 | UK won 95-60 on 22 December 2021 |
| Wright State | 18-14 | — | 153 | -/- | 158 | United Kingdom, 4-0 | UK won 78-62 on 20 November 2015 |
Pope and his staff have put together a dynamic roster for the 2024-25 season that includes a mix of six fifth-year players, a senior, a junior, a sophomore and three freshmen.
UK’s veterans have played in 845 college games together and have scored nearly 8,000 career points. Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams have all scored 1,000 points. The group has also made 1,033 career three-pointers, a 37.0 percent success rate.
Butler and Williams were named their league’s top defensive player of the year, while Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson were named their conference’s sixth man of the year during their careers and Almonor was the most improved selection. Brandon Garrison is a former McDonald’s All-American. Kerr Kriisa has played in 99 career games and made 238 three-pointers, while Otega Oweh has played in 60 games and was Oklahoma’s second-leading scorer last season.
Kentucky’s freshman group includes Kentucky State’s Travis Perry and Trent Noah and Collin Chandler, a former top-35 player in the Class of 2022. Perry is the state’s all-time leading scorer, while Noah broke the state Sweet 16 record for most 3-pointers made in a single game with 19 this season.
Season ticket renewals will be mailed later in July. Those interested in season tickets are encouraged to participate in the season ticket lottery. Due to the extremely high renewal rate of men’s basketball season tickets, only a limited number of higher-level tickets are available each year through the lottery.
A limited number of new lower-tier season tickets are available with a capital commitment, as are memberships to Rupp Arena’s newest hospitality space, the Champions Club. For more information on premium options, please contact the K Fund Office at (859) 257-6300.
For the latest news on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on TwitterFacebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.