Basketball season is nearly upon us, and there is so much anticipation for Head Coach Mark Pope’s inaugural season. Big Blue Madness sold out in 24 minutes and was absolutely electric to kick off the season. There are now three exhibitions in front of Kentucky, and here’s how you can watch each of those contests.

Blue-White Preseason Event – October 18 at 6pm EST

This is an inner squad event, essentially a glorified scrimmage. Both men’s and women’s squads will be involved. You could also consider it a dress rehearsal of sorts. However, fans are a little upset about the blue-white event this year because it won’t be televised. The only way to watch it is to buy tickets.

This is the point of closing it off: It’s an NIL fundraising event hosted by Club Blue (the NIL collective). Here is what the official Kentucky Athletics website says about it: “This year, the traditional Blue-White Event, featuring men’s and women’s basketball preseason intrasquad scrimmages, has been transformed into an interactive fan experience, with proceeds benefiting Club Blue, one of UK Athletics’ NIL partners.”

It is in the historic Memorial Coliseum, and tickets went on sale for $100-$1250 apiece. You can get those tickets here.

Kentucky Wesleyan – October 23 at 7pm EST

The first unofficial game against an actual opponent will take place next week at Rupp Arena. This exhibition will be the first time we will be able to see rebuilt Wildcats in action against an opponent.

There’s a problem with watching this game too. It won’t be televised but it will be available to stream on SEC Network +. Which is basically the streaming platform of the SEC Network hosted by ESPN. You will need to have ESPN+ on your devices or you can stream it on your computer at ESPN+.

Minnesota State Mankato – October 29th at 7pm EST

The final exhibition game will be against Minnesota State Mankato. If you did the same thing as me and said, “Who?!” Don’t worry—it’s a small college in Mankato, Minnesota, which is a branch of Minnesota State.

I hate to say this, but this game is also only on SEC Network+. Don’t shoot the messenger, but the same about the game above is true for this one. You will need to find it on your devices or online using ESPN+.

The official start to the basketball season for Kentucky is on November 4th and the Wildcats will be taking on Wright State.