LEXINGTON, Ky. –  After earning a No. 23 ranking in the preseason Associated Press (AP) poll earlier this month, Kentucky comes in at No. 23 in the 2024-25 season’s first edition of the USA Today Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, announced Wednesday.  

Kentucky has flaunted a preseason coaches’ poll ranking 59 times dating back to the inaugural poll in 1950. The Cats have made 955 total appearances in the rankings, which are in their 75th season of existence.  

Kansas begins the season as the preseason No. 1 ranked team. Rounding out the top five include Alabama, UConn, Houston and Duke. The full preseason rankings are available via USA Today 

Top 25 Coaches’ Poll opponents on Kentucky’s schedule this year include Alabama (No. 2), Gonzaga (No. 7), Auburn (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 12), Texas A&M (No. 15), Arkansas (No. 16), Texas (No. 19), Florida (No. 21) and Ole Miss (No. 25). Clemson, Ohio State and Mississippi State are receiving votes.  

The nine SEC schools represented in the poll are the most of any conference.  

Kentucky will field one of the most experienced teams in the country, but not a single scholarship player has appeared in a game for the Blue and White. UK’s veteran lineup has played in 845 career games, made 586 starts, scored 7,900 points and sunk 1,033 3-pointers at a 37.0% rate.  

Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams are all 1,000-point scorers. Butler and Williams were named their league’s defensive player of the year, while Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson have been tabbed a conference’s sixth man of the year in their career and Almonor was a most improved selection. Brandon Garrison is a former McDonald’s All-American. Kerr Kriisa has played in 99 career games and has made 238 3-pointers, while Otega Oweh has seen action in 60 games and was Oklahoma’s second-leading scorer a season ago.  

Kentucky’s freshmen group includes Travis Perry and Trent Noah from the state of Kentucky and Collin Chandler, a former top-35 signee in the class of 2022. Perry is the state’s all-time leading scorer, while Noah broke the Sweet 16 state record for most 3-pointers drained in a single run with 19 this season. 

UK then opens the regular season inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Wright State.  

Tickets are now on sale for Kentucky’s first nine home games, including the next exhibition. Tickets will be available exclusively online at Ticketmaster.com or through the Ticketmaster app. Tickets for Kentucky’s final 11 home games, including all SEC games and the games vs. Louisville and Brown, will go on sale at a later date to be determined, based on availability. 

With season ticket renewals complete and strong demand for new seats continuing through the season ticket lottery, there is no guarantee that single-game tickets will be available for all games. Fans are reminded that single-game inventory for Kentucky basketball games is limited, as a majority of tickets are sold as season ticket packages or held as part of the student allotment. Additional ticket inventory from the student allotment may be released to the public at a later date, based upon student sales. 

A limited number of premium floor and courtside single-game ticket options are available through the K Fund. In addition, a select number of new loge box seats behind the team benches will debut this year, for game-by-game purchase. All premium options include access to pre-game and halftime hospitality. For more information on these exclusive experiences, contact the K Fund Office at (859) 257-8792 or L.Love@uky.edu. Read more on tickets for the 2024-25 season here.  

For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.