Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope on new UK transfers, freshmen
From incoming freshmen to seasoned players from the portal, UK basketball coach Mark Pope breaks down each new player on his 2025 squad.
The NCAA now allows Division I men’s basketball teams to play two preseason exhibitions against any four-year school.Kentucky basketball will host Purdue and Georgetown for its preseason exhibition games.The Wildcats hold a 6-2 all-time series lead against the Boilermakers.Georgetown has won both of its previous matchups against Kentucky, with the last meeting occurring in 1984.
LEXINGTON — Earlier this year, the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee approved a measure permitting teams to participate in two preseason exhibitions versus any four-year school — including fellow Division I teams.
Kentucky basketball and coach Mark Pope wasted no time, immediately adding a pair of power conference foes for their preseason exhibitions.
Schools such as Kentucky Wesleyan and Kentucky State are gone.
Purdue and Georgetown University are in.
With the Wildcats welcoming the Boilermakers and Hoyas to Rupp Arena on Oct. 24 and 30, respectively, we take a look back at previous matchups between UK and its two exhibition foes ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Series history: Kentucky leads 6-2
What to know: The series between the Wildcats and Boilermakers has followed a pattern: two UK wins, followed by a Purdue victory. That pattern has repeated twice, giving Kentucky a 6-2 advantage.
Memorable games
Dec. 3, 1997: Kentucky 89, Purdue 75
Synopsis: Both teams were ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll at the time of this matchup at the Great Eight event in Chicago. The No. 7 Wildcats led by five at halftime, 42-37. They pulled away after intermission for a double-digit triumph over the sixth-ranked Boilermakers.
Dec. 22, 1979: Kentucky 61, Purdue 60
Synopsis: In the only other instance in which both squads boasted top-10 AP rankings at the time of their matchup, the Wildcats once again got the better of the Boilermakers. Purdue went into halftime with a 29-25 lead. But UK rallied to escape with a one-point victory in the UKIT championship game. Fred Cowan and Kyle Macy had 18 points apiece to lead Kentucky, which was enough to offset Joe Barry Carroll’s game-high 25 for Purdue.
Series history: Georgetown leads 2-0
What to know: It’s been more than 40 years since UK squared off with Georgetown. The Hoyas won both meetings, which is why each is featured below.
Memorable games
March 31, 1984: Georgetown 53, Kentucky 40
Synopsis: The Wildcats held a seven-point halftime advantage (29-22) in this Final Four clash in Seattle. But the Hoyas stormed back, outscoring the Wildcats by 20 points, 31-11, to win by double digits and clinch a spot in the national championship game.
“We like to tease our enemies, make them happy and think they will blow us out,” Georgetown coach John Thompson said after the game, in a New York Times story reposted on BigBlueHistory.net. “Then we come back.”
Feb. 11, 1922: Georgetown 28, Kentucky 23
Synopsis: In a contest held at Ryan Gym in Washington, D.C., the Wildcats fell by five points. Johnny Flavin had a game-high 12 points to pace the hosts in the win.
Per BigBlueHistory.net, The Washington Post wrote that the game “was a nip and tuck affair throughout, and never during the fracas did either team have a comfortable advantage. The teams battled neck and neck at all times and gave an exceptional exhibition of basketball. Frequently the players would receive ovations from the many spectators present, when the ball dropped through the hoop, breaking a deadlock count.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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