Kentucky basketball has one more exhibition game before they begin the games that actually count next week. It’ll be a time for Mark Pope to continue to tinker with lineups and situations against an actual opponent. The opponent they will see this time is Minnesota State, the reigning DII NCAA Champions. Let’s get right into some of the most important questions for tonight.

Who: Minnesota State (Exhibition)
Where: Rupp Arena
When: Oct. 29 at 7 pm EST
Watch: SEC+

The SEC+ is only streamable, which means it’s online only. You could still watch it on your TV, but not on a regular channel. You would need a smart TV or some sort of streaming stick attached to download the ESPN app. This will be where you can find it. Or click this link on your browser/phone. You will need an ESPN/SEC account and subscription.

Minnesota State is the DII Champion and hasn’t lost in 16 straight games. They finished their regular season 35-2 overall. Their only two losses came from Minot State, another DII-ranked team, and Minnesota Duluth.

They are a very impressive DII program that outscored their opponents last year on an average of 14.5 a game. They won’t return their entire squad from last season due to players graduating and transferring. However, they are reloaded and looking for another great year in DII basketball.

They are a great exhibition opponent because while Kentucky should still roll them, Minnesota State will be able to give Kentucky enough of a problem to create good situations and opportunities for team growth. While the score may end up being very lopsided, Minnesota State will do what you want in an exhibition: play strong defense and push Kentucky back as much as possible.

More of the same from last week. Lots of passing and three-point shots. We will see head coach Mark Pope experiment with more lineups and chemistry of the five on the floor. He will keep the playbook relatively closed but will try a few things in this game.

We should also have Kerr Kriisa back, and it will be fun to see how he is used in this rotation. Pope was able to use 12 players last week, and he will look to do that again in this game.