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Kentucky basketball schedule 2024-25: Duke, Gonzaga among Wildcats' top nonconference games
By Cameron Salerno,
1 day ago
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For the first time since the 2008-09 season, someone other than John Calipari will be roaming the sidelines for Kentucky . A stunning exit by Calipari to Arkansas earlier this spring prompted the Wildcats to hire away Mark Pope from his post at BYU to take over a program he is familiar with.
Kentucky opens the 2024-25 season on Nov. 4 at home against Wright State and faces Bucknell later in the week before the meat of its schedule begins. The Wildcats following game is a neutral site showdown against Duke , ranked No. 9 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 , in Atlanta in what should be one of the top college basketball games of the season.
Other marquee nonconference games for the Wildcats include a clash against Gonzaga in Seattle , a home game against in-state rival Louisville , and a road game against Clemson in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Kentucky also faces Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Here are the top five Kentucky's nonconference games to watch this season.
1. Duke
When: Nov. 12, 2024 | Where: State Farm Arena (Atlanta) in Champions Classic
One of the best matchups in the sport will take place during the opening month in Sin City when Kentucky faces Duke in a battle of blue bloods. The Blue Devils are another team in contention to be the preseason top-ranked team due to the arrival of five-star forward Cooper Flagg — one of the most anticipated incoming freshmen in recent memory.
But it's not just Flagg that makes the Blue Devils matchup with Kansas so appealing, as the program returns their (projected) starting backcourt in Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster . Duke added Mason Gillis ( Purdue ), Maliq Brown ( Syracuse ) and Sion James ( Tulane ) to the top-ranked high school recruiting class that features Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, Patrick Ngongba ll and Darren Harris.
Gonzaga went into Lexington last season and knocked off Kentucky behind a monster performance from star forward Graham Ike . Gonzaga has the luxury of returning most of its starting production from a team that reached the Sweet 16 and should offer Kentucky a valuable test ahead of SEC play.
The hatred in the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry runs deep, and this game should be much more competitive this season. Louisville hired Charleston 's Pat Kelsey to replace Kenny Payne after a dreadful two seasons with the program, and the Cardinals loaded up — similarly to their in-state rival — via the transfer portal.
When: Dec. 21, 2024 | Where: Madison Square Garden (New York) in CBS Sports Classic
After a strong end to the 2023-24 season, Ohio State removed the interim tag from Jake Diebler's title instead of going on a national coaching search to find a replacement for Chris Holtmann.
Clemson is coming off its best season as a program in nearly 45 years. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980, and despite losing star big man PJ Hall to the NBA Draft , should still be competitive in the new-look ACC.
The ACC-SEC Challenge will mark the first true road game that Kentucky plays under Pope.
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