Men’s Basketball Completes Schedule with BBN United Tipoff Classic Presented by Kentucky Tourism
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s basketball will host Nicholls State University, Valparaiso and Eastern Illinois this coming November as part of the BBN United Tipoff Classic presented by Kentucky Tourism, the program announced on Monday.
The three game multi-team event completes the Wildcats’ regular-season schedule for 2025-26. Kentucky will host Nicholls on Nov. 4 in the season opener before facing Valparaiso on Nov. 7 and Eastern Illinois on Nov. 14. Game times and television assignments will be announced at a later date.
Kentucky will battle both Nicholls and Eastern Illinois for the first time in program history, while the clash against Valparaiso will be the third meeting between the two programs all-time, with the Cats having won both previous matchups.
BBN United is the newly unveiled official fan club of UK Athletics. The innovative loyalty and membership program is developed and operated by fan experience leader Two Circles and UK’s longstanding multimedia rights partner, JMI Sports. Members of Big Blue Nation can join the club to receive limited-edition merchandise, exclusive content and memorable experiences with their favorite programs.
The Wildcats are slated to play 21 regular-season games against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. UK will play seven of last year’s Sweet 16 squads and five Elite Eight teams, including two matchups against the defending National Champion Florida Gators.
| Date | Opponent/Event | Location |
| Oct. 24 | Purdue (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Oct. 30 | Georgetown (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Nov. 4 | Nicholls (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Nov. 7 | Valparaiso (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Nov. 11 | at Louisville | KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.) |
| Nov. 14 | Eastern Illinois (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Nov. 18 | vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic) | Madison Square Garden (New York) |
| Nov. 21 | Loyola (Md.) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Nov. 26 | Tennessee Tech | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Dec. 2 | North Carolina (ACC/SEC Challenge) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Dec. 5 | vs. Gonzaga | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.) |
| Dec. 9 | North Carolina Central | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Dec. 13 | Indiana | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Dec. 20 | vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic) | State Farm Arena (Atlanta) |
| Dec. 23 | Bellarmine | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Jan. 3 | at Alabama (SEC) | Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) |
| Jan. 6/7 | Missouri (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Jan. 10 | Mississippi State (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Jan. 13/14 | at LSU (SEC) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.) |
| Jan. 17 | at Tennessee (SEC) | Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
| Jan. 20/21 | Texas (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Jan. 24 | Ole Miss (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Jan. 27/28 | at Vanderbilt (SEC) | Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, Tenn.) |
| Jan. 31 | at Arkansas (SEC) | Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.) |
| Feb. 3 | Oklahoma (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Feb. 7 | Tennessee (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Feb. 14 | at Florida (SEC) | Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, Fla.) |
| Feb. 17/18 | Georgia (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| Feb. 21 | at Auburn (SEC) | Neville Arena (Auburn, Ala.) |
| Feb. 24/25 | at South Carolina (SEC) | Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.) |
| Feb. 28 | Vanderbilt (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
| March 3/4 | at Texas A&M (SEC) | Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas) |
| March 7 | Florida (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center |
Men’s basketball season ticket renewals for the 2025-26 season are currently underway, with a deadline of Aug. 22. Renewals are now available online through each season ticket holders My UK Athletics Account. Fans needing assistance with their online account are encouraged to contact the UK Ticket Office at (859) 257-1818 or send an email to uktickets@uky.edu.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats are coming off the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019 and return Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah and Otega Oweh who all contributed to a 24-12 season which featured wins over an NCAA-record-tying eight Associated Press Top 15 foes.
Adding to UK’s firepower in 2025-26 is one of the highest-ranked transfer classes in the country. The Cats will add 2025 National Champion Denzel Aberdeen from Florida; a two-time NCAA Sweet 16 participant in Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate; an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in Pitt’s Jaland Lowe; Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio who is a Lexington native; National Defensive Player of the Year late-season finalist Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State; and Kam Williams from Tulane who earned American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team honors.
The Cats also have four first-year player signees in Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavić, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
