After seven long, eventful months, the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team is back and is ready to tip off the Mark Pope era. The Wildcats’ opponent in the season opener will be the Wright State Raiders.

Wright State comes to Rupp Arena for a payment of $90,000 to give the Wildcats a respectable test. Coached by first-year head coach Clint Sargent, the Raiders were picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League and have the league’s preseason Player of the Year in forward Brandon Noel.

This will be the fifth game of the series, with Kentucky winning the previous four games by an average of 20.25 points.

Here’s what to watch for in Kentucky vs. Wright State to tip off the new season.

Defensive Litmus Test

Last season, Wright State had one of the nation’s best offenses, ranking fourth in points per game (86.5) and first in field goal percentage (53%). While they are under a new coach, Sargent has been at Wright State since 2016 and will play a similar style.

While they with pace, they do not rush things, and playing an inside-out game. Last season, the Raiders scored two-thirds of their points on two-point shots. That said, Sargent will likely shoot more threes than his predecessor.

This game should be a good litmus test for the Kentucky defense, which Pope says needs improvement. “We were actually dancing, recovering to the gap instead of recovering to the shooter,” he said of his preseason contests on Thursday.

This will be a great early test for the Cats, especially since Wright State has a very good forward in Brandon Noel, who recorded 19 points and 16 rebounds in a road win over Oakland last season.

Size Advantage

Wright State does not have a player in the rotation taller than 6’8, giving the Wildcats a clear size advantage with the trio of Andrew Carr, Brandon Garrison, and Amari Williams.

This should also create pressure inside the paint, allowing for shooters to be open. Also, this should help Kentucky on the boards, especially on the offensive glass. Mark Pope prioritizes this in his offense and wants to see his team improve on that from the preseason.

“I haven’t been super excited about us on the glass right now,” Pope said in his pregame presser. “We haven’t had the presence on the offensive glass, which is vitally important. How we play, we have got to have a presence on the offensive glass. And I think there were some times we got lackadaisical on the defensive glass. So I’d like to get much, much better there, much more sure there.”

Let’s see if Kentucky can assert itself now that the games are real, even if the team potentially does not have one of its best frontcourt players…

Amari Williams Injury

Early in Kentucky’s second exhibition game, Amari Williams suffered a leg injury, which forced him to miss the rest of the game. Thankfully, it sounds like it’s only a minor issue, but it does have Williams’ status in doubt for Monday night.

“Imaging was really good, really positive,” Pope said of Williams during a Thursday press conference. “He’s day-to-day right now. He won’t do anything — just free throws today, and we’re hopeful he’ll be back soon. But we’ll kinda proceed with all the caution and urgency that we possibly can.”

If Williams can’t go, it means Brandon Garrison will be the starting center after a solid showing in the exhibition season. While Garrison is more than capable of holding down the fort, Williams is the better overall big man. He’s also a better fit for Kentucky’s offense since he’s a good passer and can take the ball up the floor after grabbing a rebound.

Crowd/Energy

The Kentucky fanbase has been juiced with Mark Pope’s infectious energy since he was hired in April. That excitement has carried through the offseason and the first preseason exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan. However, for Minnesota State, the crowd was quite pitiful.

What will the crowd look like for Monday’s season opener? There will likely not be 100% attendance, but it will be interesting to see the turnout. There are several tickets still available online.

Opposing Players to Watch

F Brandon Noel, 6-8, 240 lbs

• 14.5 PPG
• 8.0 RPG
• Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year

*Stats from 2023-24 season

G Alex Huibregtse, 6-3, 205 lbs

• 12.3 PPG
• 3.3 APG
• Preseason Horizon League Second Team

*Stats from 2023-24 season

F Michael Imariagbe, 6-7, 220 lbs

• 11.4 PPG
• 8.5 RPG

*Stats from 2023-24 season

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Wright State Raiders

Time: 7:00 PM EST on November 4th
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: ESPNU
Announcers: Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | WSU
Stats to Know: UK | WSU
KenPom: UK | WSU
Team Sheet: UK | WSU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky as a 21.5-point favorite with an over/under of 157.5. EvanMiya gives the Cats a 92.9% chance to win. Bart Torvik and KenPom are slightly higher at 95% and 94%, respectively, while DRatings is at 93.1%.

Predictions: Bart Torvik and Haslametrics have Kentucky winning 91-71 and 93-73, respectively. EvanMiya and KenPom both predict an 86-69 win for the Wildcats. DRatings has Kentucky winning 96-81.

Send us your score predictions in the comments section!

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

It’s a good start to the weekend as Kentucky basketball has picked up a commitment. 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, picking the Wildcats over Duke and Connecticut.

Funny enough, during an unofficial visit in Lexington back in June, Mark Pope joked with fans that Lewis was committing to Kentucky. While Lewis didn’t commit that day, Pope was able to seal the deal a few months later.

Why Kentucky?

“It felt like a community. Pope, he was in the hood with me. He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be. The system is great.”

Lewis joins five-star commits Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson in Kentucky’s class, and helps bolster the Wildcats’ class ranking up to second, only behind Duke. Both players recruited Lewis to join them, with Moreno joining him for part of his official visit to Kentucky back in October, including being featured in his photoshoot. Shortly after the visit, Lewis said in an interview about Kentucky, “You can’t beat what they were doing.”

While Moreno and Johnson were big recruiting victories, they were both players from Kentucky. This is Pope’s commitment from outside of the state, and he went up against the bluest of blue bloods in Duke, UConn, and North Carolina.

Now, can Lewis help Kentucky close the deal on consensus top 10 wing Caleb Wilson? The two have expressed a lot of interest in playing together, and Wilson is aiming to make a decision by December, with Kentucky as one of the two leaders.

Scouting Report

Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well.

Going into Kentucky’s first exhibition of the preseason, many were unsure what the new era of Kentucky Basketball would look like. Matching up against the D-ll Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers, the Wildcats looked mightily impressive in a 123-52 win.

Out of the gate, Kentucky opened up strong, building a 22-6 lead in the first eight minutes of action. Jaxson Robinson put up 13 points in the first half, displaying his familiarity with Pope’s system. Lamont Butler defended at an elite level, creating 4 steals in 16 minutes of play in the first half. Kentucky Wesleyan had no match for Otega Oweh who helped boost the scoring with 11 first-half points.

Kentucky finished with 60 first-half points on 62% shooting from the field and made 8 of their 20 three-point field goal attempts coming out to 40% from behind the arc in an offensive explosion in the first half. The Cats took the Panthers into the breakup 60-24.

Mark Pope’s squad wasted no time in the second half, as they continued to pile on the points. It was the expected supporting pieces performing so well.

Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor went 3 of 3 from behind the arc in the second half. However, it wasn’t Almonor who took the crowd by storm, rather it was Harlan native Freshman Trent Noah.

Checking in at the under-12 timeout, Noah went on to make four three-point field goals in just a little over nine minutes. Scoring all of his 12 points in the second half, he led the Wildcats in scoring in the half, and he walked off the court to a loud ovation from the fans inside Rupp. However, it wasn’t just the fans, it was the bench as well. “Kerr (Kriisa), I thought he was going to start ripping his clothes off he was so excited,” Pope said after the game.

Overall, the Cats’ 71-point victory is the third-largest exhibition win in program history. The way they did it made it look even better, shooting the ball incredibly well and great ball movement. Shooting 21/42 (50%) from three, Pope made good on his word to shoot 35-plus threes. All eleven players scored, and ten recorded at least one assist.

Keys of the Game

During his post-game comments, Mark Pope mentioned a couple of keys that helped Kentucky win the game so convincingly.

The first was Lamont Butler who had six steals, which outnumbered the total turnovers by the team (5). “I have never seen that before,” Pope said after looking at the box score.

The great assist-to-turnover margin was also something Pope was notably proud of. 32 assists to just 5 turnovers, a 6.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Pope also mentioned Otega Oweh’s ability to create in the lane for himself and his teammates which opened the court for more scoring opportunities for the Cats.

Pope was excited for what is next for his team and their togetherness that could lead them to the promised land. This Kentucky team has the ability to exceed expectations this season if they continue to improve on the solid effort they put on display tonight.

Box Score

Highlights

When do the Cats get back to Action?

Kentucky will hit the floor next week for their second and last exhibition game. They will face Minnesota State Mankato, a defending National Champion on the D-ll level who has made a name for themselves under coach Matt Margenthaler. The game is on October 29th at Rupp Arena and will be at 7 PM, fans can find the game on SEC NETWORK+.