Kentucky’s Mark Pope on winning exhibition opener over Kentucky Wesleyan
Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach Mark Pope discusses the team’s 123-52 win over Kentucky Wesleyan in the 2024 exhibition opener at Rupp Arena.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky men’s basketball closes the 2024-25 preseason tonight at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats won their preseason opener under new coach Mark Pope last week, rolling past Kentucky Wesleyan by 71 points.
UK’s newcomers looked at ease in the dominant exhibition victory, as every scholarship player who took the floor scored at least two points; senior guard Kerr Kriisa was the only Wildcat who didn’t play, sitting out while nursing a hamstring injury.
For tonight’s exhibition finale, Kentucky welcomes Minnesota State Mankato to town.
Like Kentucky Wesleyan, Minnesota State Mankato is a Division II program. The Mavericks are the defending national champions in Division II, finishing last season 35-2. It was the first national title for the men’s basketball program.
Minnesota State Mankato was picked to repeat as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference champion in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
The Mavericks are led by senior Kyreese Willingham, the NSIC preseason Player of the Year. He appeared in all 37 games last season, averaging 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing. Willingham made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in last season’s national title tilt.
Minnesota State Mankato coach Matt Margenthaler has guided the program the past 23 years. In that time, he owns a 488-211 record (.698 winning percentage), with eight conference titles and 14 NCAA Tournament appearances to go along with last season’s national championship.
Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home:
UK and Minnesota State Mankato are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. today at Rupp Arena.
The exhibition between the Wildcats and Mavericks will not air on a traditional TV channel.
Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+. Darren Headrick (play-by-play) and Cameron Mills (analyst) will have the call.
Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the exhibition contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Those without access to SEC Network+ can access coverage via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click here.)
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.
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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.
