Kentucky basketball’s Mark Pope previews No. 1 Purdue exhibition game
Mark Pope previews Kentucky’s exhibition versus No. 1 Purdue and praises Boilermakers coach Matt Painter as one of the best in college basketball.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball‘s 2025-26 season is nearly here. But before it officially tips off, UK has a pair of high-profile exhibitions at Rupp Arena.
First up: Purdue, which arrives in Lexington as the nation’s top-ranked team in the preseason in both the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll as well as the AP Top 25. That makes tonight’s contest a matchup of top-10 squads: Mark Pope‘s Wildcats are No. 9 in both major preseason polls.
Though this is the first exhibition meeting between these two schools, they’re no strangers to each other — they’ve squared off eight times, with Kentucky owning a 6-2 lead in the series. The last time they played also was a top-10 battle: Seventh-ranked UK topped No. 6 Purdue, 89-75, at the Great Eight event in Chicago on Dec. 3, 1997. The Wildcats went on to capture the national title that season under first-year coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith.
Pope is entering his second season guiding the program. In Year 1, he led Kentucky to a 24-12 record — one third of those wins (eight) were against opponents ranked among the top 15 in the AP poll at the time of the matchup, which tied a single-season NCAA record — and a Sweet 16 appearance, the program’s first since 2019. Pope’s roster this season boasts four returnees (highlighted by guard Otega Oweh, the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year) and 10 newcomers.
Purdue is entering its 21st season under longtime coach Matt Painter. With a 471-215 (.687) record at Purdue, he needs only 42 more victories to move into first place on the school’s all-time wins list. Like UK, Purdue is fresh off a Sweet 16 berth last season. Given the team Painter has assembled this season, however, the Boilermakers might be on the precipice of the NCAA title that has eluded them for so long.
Here’s what you need to know to follow today’s exhibition game from home:
UK and Purdue are slated to tip off at 6 p.m. today at Rupp Arena.
The exhibition contest between the Wildcats and Boilermakers will air on SEC Network.
You can stream SEC Network on Fubo, which offers a free trial. The exhibition also will stream on via ESPN+ (subscriber only).
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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.