Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
The Kentucky men’s basketball team has spent the entire summer and fall playing against each other. From practice to scrimmages, it’s been just the Cats against the Cats for months now.
On Wednesday night, UK will get its chance as the Cats face Kentucky Wesleyan in an exhibition game at Rupp Arena (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network Plus).
Freshman Colin Chandler says that Kentucky is definitely ready to be playing against outside competition.
“We’re excited. We’re so excited,” Chandler said. “We’re excited to give other people headaches, other than ourselves. To be able to compete together is something that’s really exciting.”
Fans got their first look at the 2024-25 Cats on Friday night in the Blue-White game inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Forward Andrew Carr led all scorers with 25 points, while Chandler led his White squad with 19 points.
Chandler is still working his way back into form after taking two years away from the game to complete his two-year mission trip. He says that things are starting to come back to him now.
“I’m starting to get my legs under me a little bit,” Chandler said. “I’m trying to be aggressive to feel the game out. I feel like that’s coming back and I’m feeling very comfortable out on the floor. I’m feeling good. It’s come back faster than I had hoped.”
The Cats showed in the Blue-White game that they are willing, and able, to get shots for their teammates. The two teams combined to dish out 30 assists on 47 made baskets in the exhibition. Chandler said that being selfless has been a major point of emphasis in practice.
“I think our big focus lately has been making plays for our teammates,” Chandler said. “Focusing on what we can do to assist our teammates. Not even just passing but screening, setting real screens, getting each other open. If that’s our thought process and we worry about our teammates getting shots, then we think everything’s going to work out.”
What does Chandler expect to learn from Wednesday night’s exhibition game?
“We’ve been practicing coming together,” Chandler said. “I think we’re going to learn how to lean on each other.”
The Cats will be facing a program that has had a ton of success over the years. Kentucky Wesleyan was 21-9 last season, falling in the Division II Midwest Region Championship to Upper Iowa. The Panthers have won an NCAA Division II record eight national championships (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001). Chandler and the Cats hope to be ready for KWC on Wednesday night.
“We’ve watched film, talked about personnel. These guys can play. That’s what we’ve seen on film. We’re going to be ready for them. They’re very good players and we’re coming in ready to respond to that.”
The Cats have been waiting for the opportunity to play against someone else, and they get that chance on Wednesday night when tradition-rich Kentucky Wesleyan visits Rupp Arena.
The Mark Pope Era Begins
When his alma mater came calling, Mark Pope knew there was no place like home.
Pope, a captain of the University of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team, returned to Lexington as the 23rd head coach of Kentucky’s storied men’s basketball program on April 12.
• A nine-year coaching veteran with stops at Utah Valley and BYU
• Owns a career record of 187-108
• His squads have won 20 or more games in six of the last seven seasons
• He’s advanced teams to six postseason appearances. Another squad, his 2020 BYU team, would have been in the NCAA Tournament had the COVID pandemic not canceled postseason play
• Pope was 110-52 (67.9%) at BYU where three of his five teams ranked among the top 20 of the Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings
• Pope is coming off a 23-11 season in 2023-24. It was BYU’s first season in the Big 12 Conference and the Cougars’ 10-8 league record featured victories over No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor and No. 24 Iowa State
• The Cougars ranked third in the country with 11.1 made 3-pointers per game in 2023-24, and also ranked in the top 10 in assists per game (3rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th)
• BYU led the Big 12 in scoring at 81.4 points per game
• BYU was ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll after going 12-1 in nonconference action
• Pope began his collegiate playing career at the University of Washington, where he was tabbed the 1992 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.
• Transferred to Kentucky after his sophomore season, where he appeared in every game of his two-year career with the Wildcats
• UK won the 1995 and ‘96 regular-season Southeastern Conference championships, the ’95 SEC Tournament title and the 1996 NCAA Tournament
• Pope averaged 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 69 career games
• He was named to the All-SEC Tournament Team in 1995, behind a pair of double-doubles in three games, including one in the title game that went to overtime.
• Pope was selected in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers
• He played professional basketball from 1997-2005, including stints with Indiana, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets
• In 2000-01, he started 45 games and helped the Bucks reach the Eastern Conference Finals
UK Ranked to Begin the Season
Led by first-year head coach Mark Pope, once again, Kentucky will begin the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, checking in at No. 23.
• This is the 57th time in program history that the Wildcats are among the top-rated teams to open the season in 64 preseason AP polls.
• Kentucky leads all programs with 970 appearances in the weekly poll, which is in its 76th season.
• Ten Kentucky opponents enter the 2024-25 season ranked in the AP Top 25 for 12 total matchups with preseason ranked foes
• A nation-leading nine Southeastern Conference squads begin the season ranked.
