The Champions Classic will be exciting, Kentucky set to take on Duke in Atlanta under the bright lights of State Farm Arena on Tuesday. First, though, the Wildcats must take care of business on Saturday before worrying about that high-profile matchup in the next couple of days.

Bucknell is in town with the fighting Nate Sestinas set to take on the Cats inside Rupp Arena at 4 p.m. ET. It’s a solid test for the home team, taking on the team picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League.

Kentucky played extremely well in the opener against Wright State, but can they improve upon that performance and run it back with another dominant effort in game two? KSR has everything you need to know about Saturday’s matchup.

How To Watch

No. 23 Kentucky vs. Bucknell
4 p.m. ET | Saturday, Nov. 9 | Rupp Arena

• Streaming: SEC Network+ (Andrew Kappes, Ravi Moss)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 137 or 192
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tipoff, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 37

• 10/23: 123-52 W vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (exhibition)
• 10/29: 98-67 W vs. Minnesota State (exhibition)
• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State

Bucknell: KenPom 204

• 10/26: 88-82 W vs. Saint Joseph’s (exhibition)
• 11/4: 85-73 W at Delaware
• 11/7: 75-69 OT W at Southern Indiana

Series History

This is the first-ever meeting between Kentucky and Bucknell, a chance for ultimate bragging rights. The Bison are led by second-year coach John Griffin III, who owns a 16-19 career record at Bucknell.

Kentucky vs. Bucknell Odds via Circa Sports

Spread: Kentucky -29
Total: 152.5

Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
14.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 SPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
21.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 SPG

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
8.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.0 RPG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.0 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG

Bucknell Projected Starters

#5 – Elvin Edmonds IV
6-2 – 190 – GUARD – SENIOR
10.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.0 APG

#13 – Josh Bascoe
6-0 – 180 – GUARD – SENIOR
16.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.5 APG

#1 – Ian Motta
6-6 – 195 – FORWARD – SENIOR
11.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.5 APG

#22 – Ruot Bijiek
6-9 – 190 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.5 APG

#3 – Noah Williamson
7-0 – 250 – CENTER – JUNIOR
25.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• UK improved to 101-21 all-time in season openers with a 103-62 win over
• Wright State
• The 103 points scored against the Raiders were the most in an opener since tallying 108 vs. Marist on Nov. 11, 2011
• It also marked the most points in a head coach’s debut since Tubby Smith’s Cats had 88 points on Nov. 20, 1997 vs. Morehead State.
• The margin of victory for the Wildcats was 41 points. Coincidentally, that is the jersey number Mark Pope wore as a UK player.

Pregame Storylines

MUST SLOW DOWN NOAH WILLIAMSON

All eyes are on Bucknell’s star in the frontcourt, the Preseason All-Patriot League member who is currently averaging 25.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in two games to open his junior season. He’s coming off a 32-point, nine-rebound effort in the team’s win at Southern Indiana — a human wrecking ball at 7-foot, 250 pounds. The Latvian center had six 20-point games, 19 double-figure scoring games, and four double-doubles in 2023-24. Now he’s at the top of Kentucky’s scouting report in the second game of the season for the Wildcats.

It’s a massive test for the UK frontcourt, specifically Amari Williams at 7-foot, 262 pounds in his own right. Can the Drexel transfer stay out of foul trouble and neutralize the star Bison center inside Rupp Arena?

A VETERAN-LED TEAM

Mark Pope singled out the experience on the floor when breaking down Bucknell’s roster ahead of the game, one that returns 71.4 percent of scoring and 78 percent of rebounding from a year ago. Williamson is the headliner and they lost leading scorer Jack Forrest, but there is solid, savvy talent up and down the roster with 10 of 15 players listed as juniors or seniors. “Good team, veteran team. Three seniors, two juniors. But more importantly, guys that have been together for a long time. You look at their roster: four-year guy, four-year guy, four-year guy, at Bucknell, which is super cool.”

THE NATE SESTINA GAME

It’s very hard to be both a Bison and a Wildcat, but Nate Sestina found a way to make it work. The 6-9 forward started his career at Bucknell where he became a Second Team All-Patriot League and Patriot League All-Tournament selection, then transferred to Kentucky to wrap up his career. He went on to average 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game alongside the likes of Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley and Nick Richards.

The Bison-turned-Wildcat joined Sources Say on Friday to preview the matchup and share a score prediction:

DON’T LOOK AHEAD TO DUKE

The Wildcats are in a tricky spot with this one, taking on the Bison at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by a trip to Atlanta to open the week for the Champions Classic — the biggest annual non-conference event in college basketball. Can Kentucky avoid distractions and take care of business in game two before turning its attention toward Duke on the big stage on Tuesday? It’s a quick turnaround and a massive top-25 matchup, so it’d be easy to do. Mark Pope said his team’s ability to stay “focused on right now” will determine just how good it can be not just against the Bison or the Blue Devils, but the entire season.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

New members can get KSR+ for seven days for just $1 and 50% off the annual price.

Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live from outside Rupp Arena on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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