UK basketball finalizes its exhibition games. The Cats will play an in-state opponent.

The preseason schedule is now set for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team.

UK announced Friday afternoon that new head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats will play two exhibition games in Rupp Arena before the official start of the 2024-25 season.

That exhibition slate features the defending NCAA Division II national champions and a quality DII opponent from inside the commonwealth.

The Cats will play Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 23 and Minnesota State Mankato on Oct. 29, with the regular-season opener — the first “real” game of the Pope era — scheduled for Nov. 4 against Wright State in Rupp Arena.

Along with the two exhibition games, UK also announced this week that Big Blue Madness will be held Oct. 11 in Rupp, while the annual Blue-White Game will be played in the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 18. Both of those events will also feature the Kentucky women’s basketball team, which is entering its first season under new head coach Kenny Brooks. Ticket information has not yet been released for Madness and the annual scrimmage.

Both exhibition games should provide decent early tests for Pope’s Wildcats.

Kentucky Wesleyan returns five of its top six scorers from last season, when the Panthers went 21-9 with a 15-5 record in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference before losing in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament. Wesleyan entered last season’s national tournament ranked No. 24 in the DII media poll.

The Panthers played two exhibition games against in-state opponents last year. They defeated coach Kenny Payne’s Louisville Cardinals 71-68 before losing to Western Kentucky 90-64.

Drew Cooper is entering his seventh season in charge of the Wesleyan program.

The Wildcats’ exhibition game against Minnesota State — the reigning Division II national champion — was confirmed last month , though UK did not officially announce the matchup until Friday afternoon.

The Mavericks achieved a 35-2 record last season, and head coach Matt Margenthaler signed a five-year extension with the school shortly after the team’s national title march. He has been Minnesota State’s coach since 2001. The program will also return some key players from the 2023-24 title team.

UK had previously finalized its full non-conference slate for Pope’s first season, featuring marquee games against Duke (Nov. 12), Clemson (Dec. 3), Gonzaga (Dec. 7), Louisville (Dec. 14) and Ohio State (Dec. 21), as well as an in-state battle with Western Kentucky (Nov. 26).

Now, the only thing left to complete the Cats’ 2024-25 schedule will be the details of their 18-game slate in the SEC , a gauntlet that will include a matchup in Rupp Arena against former UK head coach John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks and two games each against Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

The opponents and home sites for the SEC games have already been announced — aside from the Tide, Vols and Vandy, the Wildcats will play every team in the league just once, including newcomers Oklahoma and Texas — but the dates and times for the conference matchups have not yet been revealed.

The SEC typically announces its full schedule in early September, and the league office has confirmed to the Herald-Leader that the first conference games will be played Jan. 4.

2024-25 UK men’s basketball schedule

Kentucky’s preseason and non-conference schedule has been set. Dates for SEC matchups plus times and TV assignments for all games will be announced later. Home games listed in all capital letters.

Oct. 11: BIG BLUE MADNESS

Oct. 18: 1-BLUE-WHITE GAME

Oct. 23: KENTUCKY WESLEYAN (exhibition)

Oct. 29: MINNESOTA STATE (exhibition)

Nov. 4: WRIGHT STATE

Nov. 9: BUCKNELL

Nov. 12: 2-Duke

Nov. 19: 3-LIPSCOMB

Nov. 22: 3-JACKSON STATE

Nov. 26: 3-WESTERN KENTUCKY

Nov. 29: GEORGIA STATE

Dec. 3: 4-At Clemson

Dec. 7: 5-Gonzaga

Dec. 11: COLGATE

Dec. 14: LOUISVILLE

Dec. 21: 6-Ohio State, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 31: BROWN

Jan. 4: SEC opener

1-Memorial Coliseum; 2-Champions Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta; 3-BBN Invitational in Rupp Arena; 4-SEC/ACC Challenge at Littlejohn Coliseum; 5-Battle in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena; 6-CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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