UK coach Mark Pope praises his team at Big Blue Madness
University of Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope told the Wildcat faithful that his team will “fight every single day” while at Big Blue Madness.
LEXINGTON — The 2024-25 season marked Year 1 for Mark Pope as the Kentucky men’s basketball coach. The same went for Kenny Brooks with UK women’s hoops.
The men’s team won 24 games and went 15-3 at Rupp Arena. The women’s squad earned 23 victories and posted a 15-3 mark at Memorial Coliseum. They both made the NCAA Tournament, with the men advancing to the Sweet 16 while the women fell just short of the second weekend, losing an overtime tilt to Kansas State in the second round.
Now, Pope and Brooks prepare for their second seasons with their respective programs.
Watch Kentucky basketball’s Big Blue Madness event
Fans will get their first look at both squads of Wildcats tonight, with the programs jointly hosting the annual Big Blue Madness event, which begins at 6 p.m. at Rupp Arena.
Courier Journal sports reporter Payton Titus and photographer Matt Stone are at Rupp Arena and will have live updates throughout Big Blue Madness — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow them on X at @petitus25 and @mattstonephotog.
The Courier Journal is bringing you live updates and highlights from the event. Follow along.
The White team – made up of Reece Potter, Jaland Lowe, Braydon Hawthorne, Kam Williams and Jasper Johnson – won 14-12.
Mercer won an NCAA title at Kentucky in 1996 alongside Mark Pope before playing eight seasons in the NBA (1997-98 to 2004-05).
Brandon Garrison asked Big Blue Nation to sing “Happy Birthday” for his son Akarii, who turns 2 this week.
Two coaches picked fans from the upper deck at Rupp Arena to help coach the Blue and White teams through skills games and a scrimmage.
UK great and five-time NBA All-Star John Wall appeared at Big Blue Madness alongside coach Mark Pope.
Smith, a Kentucky native, sang Noah’s intro “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” The sophomore hails from Harlan, Kentucky.
Amelia Hassett and Asia Boone scored 18 and 24 points, respectively, in the first round of the three-point contest. Boone made her first 10 shots, clearing two full racks without a miss. Hassett took the final round with a score of 25 to Boone’s 15.
Both teams competed to see who could make the most two-in-a-row three-point shots. Team White won with six sets of consecutive threes.
Team Blue shot for Xs, and Team White shot for Os. Teonni Key for the White team managed to get three Xs in a row first.
The White team finished the skills challenge course, which included shooting over reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Clara Strack as an obstacle, fastest with a time of two minutes and one second. The team was made up of Tonie Morgan, Lexie Blue and Teonni Key.
Epps appeared on stage alongside Kenny Brooks, offering a glowing endorsement to the second-year coach: “I love this guy. Y’all get behind this guy. …Kentucky, I love you forever.”
Oct. 17: Blue-White event, 7 p.m.Oct. 24: exhibition vs. Purdue (Rupp Arena), 6 p.m.Oct. 30: exhibition vs. Georgetown University (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Nov. 4: Nicholls (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Nov. 7: Valparaiso (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Nov. 11: at Louisville (KFC Yum! Center), 8 p.m.Nov. 14: Eastern Illinois (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York), 6:30 p.m.Nov. 21: Loyola University Maryland (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Nov. 26: Tennessee Tech (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Dec. 2: North Carolina (Rupp Arena; ACC/SEC Challenge), 9:30 p.m.Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena; Nashville), 7 p.m.Dec. 9: North Carolina Central (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Dec. 13: Indiana (Rupp Arena), 7:30 p.m.Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta), 12:30 p.m.Dec. 23: Bellarmine (Rupp Arena), 1 p.m.Jan. 3: at Alabama, 1 p.m.Jan. 7: Missouri (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Jan. 10: Mississippi State (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.Jan. 14: at LSU, 7 p.m.Jan. 17: at Tennessee, NoonJan. 21: Texas (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Jan. 24: Ole Miss (Rupp Arena), NoonJan. 27: at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m.Jan. 31: at Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.Feb. 4: Oklahoma (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.Feb. 7: Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.Feb. 14: at Florida, 3 p.m.Feb. 17: Georgia (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.Feb. 21: at Auburn, 8:30 p.m.Feb. 24: at South Carolina, 7 p.m.Feb. 28: Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m.March 3: at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.March 7: Florida (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m.Denzel Aberdeen (guard, senior)Collin Chandler (guard, sophomore)Mouhamed Dioubate (forward, junior)Brandon Garrison (forward, junior)Braydon Hawthorne (forward, freshman)Walker Horn (guard, senior)Andrija Jelavić (forward, sophomore)Jasper Johnson (guard, freshman)Jaland Lowe (guard, junior)Malachi Moreno (freshman, center)Trent Noah (forward, sophomore)Otega Oweh (guard, senior)Reece Potter (forward, junior)Jayden Quaintance (forward, sophomore)Zach Tow (forward, senior)Kam Williams (guard, sophomore)
The Kentucky women’s basketball team will open the season at home Nov. 3, hosting Morehead State. The game is slated to tip off at 6:30 p.m.
Click here to see the Wildcats’ full 2025-26 schedule.
Lexi Blue (guard, sophomore)Asia Boone (guard, junior)Gabby Brooks (guard, junior)Kaelyn Carroll (forward, freshman)Josie Gilvin (guard, senior)Amelia Hassett (forward, senior)Teonni Key (forward, senior)Tonie Morgan (guard, senior)Jordan Obi (guard, graduate)Dominika Paurová (guard, redshirt sophomore)Clara Strack (center, junior)Elsa Vadfors (center, freshman)Date: Saturday, Oct. 11Time: 6 p.m.Location: Rupp Arena; Lexington
Big Blue Madness will not air on a traditional television channel.
Instead, it will be stream live on SEC Network+, a complementary digital platform to the linear SEC Network run by ESPN.
Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network+ via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
All available tickets for Big Blue Madness already have been sold.
According to Kentucky Sports Radio, at least six high-profile recruits will be in attendance tonight.
Those six prospects are:
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.