Kentucky basketball exhibition game today: Score, updates from UK vs Kentucky Wesleyan

Posted by Admin October 23, 2024 Basketball

LEXINGTON — A little more than six months after his hire as Kentucky basketball‘s coach, Mark Pope will lead his team onto the court for the first time against another team.

It just won’t count in the standings, win or lose.

UK has its first of two preseason exhibitions ahead of the 2024-25 campaign tonight, hosting in-state school Kentucky Wesleyan at Rupp Arena. The Panthers are the most successful team in Division II; their eight national championships (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999 and 2001) are the most among Division II men’s basketball programs.

Pope isn’t the only new presence around the Wildcats‘ program.

Aside from former coach John Calipari leaving for Arkansas, all 12 scholarship players from last season’s roster departed. In their place, Pope added nine players from the transfer portal and three signees entering their freshman seasons in Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry.

How will Kentucky’s dozen newcomers fare in their first test against outside competition?

Follow along below with live updates from Rupp Arena:

Here are Kentucky’s starters vs. Kentucky Wesleyan:

Here’s Kentucky Wesleyan’s starting five:

Kerr Kriisa, a transfer guard for Kentucky, won’t suit up for tonight’s exhibition opener versus Kentucky Wesleyan because of a hamstring injury. The news was first reported by Cameron Mills during the UK Sports Network pregame show Wednesday evening.

The hamstring injury also kept Kriisa out of last week’s Blue-White preseason event at Memorial Coliseum.

Kriisa started all 23 games he played in for West Virginia last season, averaging 11.0 points and 4.7 assists in 33.4 minutes per outing.

Prior to his time at West Virginia, he spent three seasons at Arizona. Kriisa led the Pac-12 in assists per game each of his last two seasons at Arizona, becoming the first player to top the league in that category in consecutive campaigns since Southern Cal’s Brandon Granville in 2000 and 2001. Kriisa appeared in 76 games (70 starts) at Arizona, averaging 9.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per contest.

The exhibition between the Wildcats and the Panthers will not air on a traditional TV channel.

Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+. Darren Headrick (play-by-play) and Cameron Mills (analyst) will have the call.

Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the exhibition contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.

Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.

You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.

Oct. 18: Blue-White event (Memorial Coliseum), 6 p.m.
Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 4: vs. Wright State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Nov. 9: vs. Bucknell (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 12: vs. Duke (Champions Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta), 9 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 19: vs. Lipscomb, (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 22: vs. Jackson State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 26: vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena), 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Nov. 29: vs. Georgia State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Dec. 3: at Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge), 9:30 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 7: vs. Gonzaga (Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle), Time TBA
Dec. 11: vs. Colgate (Rupp Arena), 8 p.m., ESPN2
Dec. 14: vs. Louisville (Rupp Arena), 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 21: vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York), 5:30 p.m., CBS
Dec. 31: vs. Brown (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m., ESPNU
Jan. 4: vs. Florida (Rupp Arena), 11 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 7: at Georgia, 7 p.m., SEC Network
Jan. 11: at Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m., SEC Network
Jan. 14: vs. Texas A&M (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Jan. 18: vs. Alabama (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN
Jan. 25: at Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/2
Jan. 28: at Tennessee, 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 1: vs. Arkansas (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 4: at Ole Miss, 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 8: vs. South Carolina (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN/ESPN2
Feb. 11: vs. Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 15: at Texas, 8 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 19: vs. Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Feb. 22: at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 26: at Oklahoma, 9 p.m., SEC Network
March 1: vs. Auburn (Rupp Arena), 1/4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
March 4: vs. LSU (Rupp Arena), 7/9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
March 8: at Missouri, noon, ESPN/SEC Network

Ansley Almonor (forward, senior)
Koby Brea (guard, graduate)
Lamont Butler (guard, graduate)
Andrew Carr (forward, graduate)
Collin Chandler (guard, freshman)
Grant Darbyshire (guard, junior)
Brandon Garrison (forward, sophomore)
Walker Horn (guard, junior)
Kerr Kriisa (guard, senior)
Trent Noah (forward, freshman)
Otega Oweh (guard, junior)
Travis Perry (guard, freshman)
Jaxson Robinson (guard, graduate)
Zach Tow (forward, junior)
Amari Williams (center, graduate)

Kentucky Wesleyan went 21-9 overall last season, posting a 15-5 mark in conference play to win the GMAC’s regular-season title. The program made national headlines last year when it upended Louisville, 71-68, in an exhibition at the KFC Yum! Center.

Click here to see the Panthers’ full 2024-25 schedule.

Want to learn Panthers’ roster?

Click here for player bios and more.

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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.