Men’s Basketball Conference Opponents Unveiled for 2024-25
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The first pieces to the inaugural schedule under Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope were unveiled by the Southeastern Conference on Monday. The Wildcats are slated to play all 15 league foes at least once and will tangle with Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in home-and-home fashion.
The league office debuted the 2024-25 home-and-away designations for the league schedule which once again features an 18-game slate with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas to the fold. Kentucky will play nine games within the friendly confines of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center and play an equal number of games on the road.
This season, the Wildcats will take on Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in a home-and-home series. It will extend two of the longest-played series in the nation with multiple dates against the Volunteers and Commodores. The two matchups against Alabama will mark the first time the Cats and Tide have met twice in a regular season since 2021-22.
Kentucky’s league home schedule will include the three aforementioned teams as well as Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M. UK’s road matchups will include Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Times, dates and television information will be announced at a later date.
The SEC will add Texas and Oklahoma to its alignment in 2024-25 enhancing an already formidable league. The SEC has had 43 NCAA Tournament selections over the last six tournaments, and the league has had at least one team advance to the Elite Eight in 10 of the last 14 tournaments. The league’s success has also translated into 60 players being selected in the last six NBA Drafts, leading all conferences in that time span.
UK’s home-and-home slate features three intriguing matchups. The Wildcats will take on Alabama, who advanced to its first Final Four in program history in 2024, for two dates next season. Kentucky captured the lone matchup between the two teams a season ago, with the Cats earning a 117-95 victory in Rupp Arena. Kentucky leads the all-time series by a 117-41 mark.
Kentucky has played Tennessee more than any other program in its history and owns a 161-78 all-time record after splitting the series a season ago. Both visiting teams secured a win in 2023-24, with UK’s coming in upset fashion to spoil Senior Night in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 9.
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 157-49. UK won both meetings in 2023-24 and are 16-2 against the Commodores in the last 18 matchups. The Wildcats are 86-16 against VU in Lexington and own a 63-29 mark in Nashville.
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.
Kentucky’s Conference Opponents
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
LSU
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
at Alabama
at Georgia
at Ole Miss
at Mississippi State
at Missouri
at Oklahoma
at Tennessee
at Texas
at Vanderbilt
