Mark Pope announces 5 UK nonconference opponents next season
LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Mark Pope announced five of Kentucky's nonconference games for the upcoming basketball season, featuring one of Kentucky's most bitter rivals returning to Rupp Arena.
On Friday, Pope announced that the rivalry with the Indiana Hoosiers will reignite on Dec. 13. The Wildcats and Hoosiers haven't squared off since losing 73-67 in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament.
Mark Pope announces 5 UK nonconference opponents next season
Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe withdraws from NBA Draft
4-star forward Braydon Hawthorne commits to Kentucky
The other four announced coming to battle the Wildcats in Rupp Arena are:
Loyola University Maryland: Nov. 21
Tennessee Tech: Nov. 26
North Carolina Central: Dec. 9
Bellarmine University: Dec. 23
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Indiana, 32-25, including winning three of five under former head coach John Calipari.
During Kentucky's national championship-winning 2012 campaign, the Cats trounced the Loyola University Maryland Ramblers, winning 87-63. They also boast a 5-0 all-time record against the Golden Eagles, now coached by UK Athletics Hall of Famer John Pelphrey.
The 2026 season will mark the first time NC Central and Kentucky will meet on the hardwood, according to UK Athletics.
Pope hopes to build on his promising first season with the Wildcats after bowing out to border rival Tennessee in the Sweet 16, their first appearance out of the second weekend since 2019.
Read more of the latest UK sports news
Last season, UK Athletics noted that the Cats clawed past an NCAA-tying eight teams ranked in the Associated Press' Top 15.
With a returning core of key players from last season and an exciting new crop of recruits and transfers, the reloaded Cats are one of the more trendy picks to cut down the nets in the Big Dance next season.
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