Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope discusses win over Minnesota State
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was happy with his team’s second half performance to get the win over Minnesota State in an exhibition game.
Sam Upshaw Jr.
LEXINGTON — The Mark Pope era at Kentucky is here.
After a pair of decisive victories in preseason exhibitions versus Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota State Mankato, Pope’s first official game tips off at 7 p.m. against Wright State at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats‘ average margin of victory in the two exhibitions was 51 points.
But Pope still found plenty of areas to critique heading into tonight’s opener.
“We haven’t had the presence on the offensive glass that is vitally important to how we play — like, we have got to have a presence on the offensive glass,” Pope said. “And I think there were some times we got lackadaisical on the defensive glass.
“So I’d like to get much, much better, much more sure there.”
This will be the fifth game between UK and Wright State, with the Wildcats winning the four previous matchups. The most recent meeting was Nov. 20, 2015, when then-No. 2 Kentucky won 78-63 in Lexington.
Follow along below with live updates from Rupp Arena:
The contest between the Wildcats and Raiders will air on ESPNU. Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) will have the call.
Authenticated subscribers can access ESPNU via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
You also can stream ESPNU on Fubo, which offers a free trial 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.
Betting odds: Kentucky is a 20 ½-point home favorite (-110) on DraftKings, which set the over-under at161 points (-110). The money line odds areUK -2400, Wright State +1200.
- Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 123, Kentucky Wesleyan 52
- Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 98, Minnesota State Mankato 67
- 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)
Wright State went 18-14 overall last season, posting a 13-7 mark in Horizon League play. Its season ended in a 99-97 overtime loss to Northern Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
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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.
