Kentucky basketball’s Mark Pope excited to play Georgetown
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope praises Georgetown as one of the best programs in college basketball, led by the great Ed Cooley.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball already defeated top-ranked Purdue without starting point guard Jaland Lowe in last week’s exhibition opener at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats will have to make do without their chief distributor at least one more outing.
UK coach Mark Pope said Lowe, who is continuing to rehab a shoulder injury suffered during the Blue-White game Oct. 17, will be held out of tonight’s exhibition finale versus Georgetown University.
Watch Kentucky basketball’s exhibition game vs. Georgetown
“We’re being really careful with him,” Pope said, “so he can be fully healthy when we start the season.”
That arrives next week, when Kentucky hosts Nicholls in the 2025-26 opener for both squads.
But first, UK takes on Georgetown.
Ten players return for the Hoyas from last season’s club, which went 18-16. Georgetown also added a half-dozen players from the transfer portal: Isaiah Abraham (UConn), DeShawn Harris-Smith (Maryland), Vince Iwuchukwu (St. John’s), KJ Lewis (Arizona), Langston Love (Baylor) and Jeremiah Williams (Rutgers).
This summer, the Hoyas participated in the GLOBL JAM event, representing the United States. Georgetown posted a 2-1 record in round-robin play, topping Brazil and Japan but losing to Canada. Still, Georgetown’s record was good enough to clinch a spot in the title game. It wasn’t able to fell Brazil a second time, however, losing 77-73 to bring home the silver medal.
Georgetown won its exhibition opener last week, taking down fellow Washington D.C. school George Washington by nine points (73-64).
Can the Wildcats finish the preseason 2-0? Or will it be the Hoyas who can make that claim?
Courier Journal sports reporter Ryan Black and columnist C.L. Brown are at Rupp Arena and will have live updates throughout the game — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow them on X at @RyanABlack and @clbrownhoops.
With 9:38 remaining in the first half, Kentucky trails Georgetown, 21-19.
UK is 7 of 19 (37%) from the field; Georgetown is 8 for 16 (50%). The Wildcats are shooting 31% (4 for 13) beyond the 3-point arc, while the Hoyas are 2 of 6 (33%).
Otega Oweh and Mouhamed Doubate each have five points for UK, while Julius Halaifonua has four points to lead Georgetown.
Here are Kentucky’s starters vs. Georgetown:
And here’s Georgetown’s lineup:
UK guard Denzel Aberdeen won’t take the floor for tonight’s exhibition finally versus Georgetown.
During a pregame radio interview with the UK Sports Network, Pope said Aberdeen is out because he’s dealing “with a little leg issue.”
Sophomore Collin Chandler will start in Aberdeen’s absence.
Mark Pope tells the UK Sports Network’s Tom Leach that Denzel Aberdeen is dealing “with a little leg issue” that the UK coach does not believe will be a long-term issue.
However, Pope says Aberdeen will not play tonight, with Collin Chandler starting in his place.
— Mark Story (@markcstory) October 30, 2025
UK point guard Jaland Lowe injured his shoulder during the Blue-White game on Oct. 17.
During a news conference Wednesday, Kentucky coach Mark Pope said the Wildcats are “being really careful with” Lowe so the junior “can be fully healthy when we start the season.”
Lowe also sat out last week’s exhibition opener against top-ranked Purdue.
The exhibition contest between the Wildcats and Hoyas will not air on a traditional television channel.
Instead, it will be streamed 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+.
Stream Kentucky basketball’s exhibition game vs. Georgetown on SEC Network+
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.
You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.
Oct. 17: Blue-White game (Click here to read takeaways from the intrasquad scrimmage.)Oct. 24: Kentucky 78, Purdue 65 (Click here to read game story from exhibition.)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)
Click here to view the Hoyas’ complete schedule.
Want to learn the Hoyas’ roster?
Click here for player bios and more.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.