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 — Just one more outing separates Kentucky basketball from the 2024-25 regular season.
UK and first-year coach Mark Pope host their second Division II team in as many weeks at 7 p.m. today. The opponent for tonight’s exhibition: Minnesota State Mankato. The Mavericks went 35-2 last season, capped by the first national championship in program history.
In their exhibition opener week, the Wildcats walloped Kentucky Wesleyan, winning by 71 points at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky’s new roster was on full display in the dominant outing, as every scholarship player who saw minutes finished with at least two points. Senior guard Kerr Kriisa didn’t play against Kentucky Wesleyan as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Minnesota State Mankato was picked to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
Senior Kyreese Willingham, the NSIC preseason player of the year, leads the way for the Mavericks. Willingham returns after appearing in all 37 games last season, averaging 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. He sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in last season’s national title game against Nova Southeastern.
The Mavericks also have a coach with decades of experience in Matt Margenthaler. In 23 years at the helm, Margenthaler has compiled a 488-211 record (.698 winning percentage), collecting eight conference titles and earning 14 NCAA Tournament bids to go along with last season’s national championship.
Follow along below with live updates from Rupp Arena:
Here are Kentucky’s starters vs. Minnesota State Mankato:
This is the same starting five UK had in last week’s exhibition opener versus Kentucky Wesleyan.
And here’s Minnesota State Mankato’s lineup:
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.
- Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 123, Kentucky Wesleyan 52
- Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 4: vs. Wright State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPNU
- Nov. 9: vs. Bucknell (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 12: vs. Duke (Champions Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta), 9 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 19: vs. Lipscomb, (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 22: vs. Jackson State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 26: vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena), 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
- Nov. 29: vs. Georgia State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
- Dec. 3: at Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge), 9:30 p.m., ESPN
- Dec. 7: vs. Gonzaga (Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle), Time TBA
- Dec. 11: vs. Colgate (Rupp Arena), 8 p.m., ESPN2
- Dec. 14: vs. Louisville (Rupp Arena), 5:15 p.m., ESPN
- Dec. 21: vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York), 5:30 p.m., CBS
- Dec. 31: vs. Brown (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m., ESPNU
- Jan. 4: vs. Florida (Rupp Arena), 11 a.m., ESPN
- Jan. 7: at Georgia, 7 p.m., SEC Network
- Jan. 11: at Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m., SEC Network
- Jan. 14: vs. Texas A&M (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
- Jan. 18: vs. Alabama (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN
- Jan. 25: at Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/2
- Jan. 28: at Tennessee, 7 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 1: vs. Arkansas (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 4: at Ole Miss, 7 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 8: vs. South Carolina (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN/ESPN2
- Feb. 11: vs. Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 15: at Texas, 8 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 19: vs. Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 22: at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN
- Feb. 26: at Oklahoma, 9 p.m., SEC Network
- March 1: vs. Auburn (Rupp Arena), 1/4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
- March 4: vs. LSU (Rupp Arena), 7/9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
- March 8: at Missouri, noon, ESPN/SEC Network
- Ansley Almonor (forward, senior)
- Koby Brea (guard, graduate)
- Lamont Butler (guard, graduate)
- Andrew Carr (forward, graduate)
- Collin Chandler (guard, freshman)
- Grant Darbyshire (guard, junior)
- Brandon Garrison (forward, sophomore)
- Walker Horn (guard, junior)
- Kerr Kriisa (guard, senior)
- Trent Noah (forward, freshman)
- Otega Oweh (guard, junior)
- Travis Perry (guard, freshman)
- Jaxson Robinson (guard, graduate)
- Zach Tow (forward, junior)
- Amari Williams (center, graduate)
Minnesota State Mankato went 35-2 overall last season, posting a 20-2 mark in conference play. The Mavericks won the NSIC regular-season and tournament titles on their way to capturing the Division II national championship for the first time in program history.
Click here to see the Mavericks’ full 2024-25 schedule.
Want to learn the Mavericks’ roster?
Click here for player bios and more.
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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.
