Mark Pope teases 'another great exhibition game' to pair with Purdue preseason matchup

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Kentucky-Involved-Top-15-Prospect-2027-Class — Mar 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on during the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky’s 2025-26 non-conference schedule is going to be hellacious.

Head coach Mark Pope has put together what will end up being one of the toughest early slates in the entire country. Kentucky will face the likes of St. John’s (No. 3), Louisville (No. 5), Michigan State (No. 20), and Gonzaga (No. 23), which are all among ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 preseason rankings. There’s also the still-unannounced SEC/ACC Challenge and a home matchup with Indiana. And while the SEC won’t be as good this season as it was last, several teams will be ranked throughout the season.

But wait! There’s more! Earlier this month, UK announced an exhibition matchup with Purdue, a team many outlets predict will begin the season as the nation’s number one. A recently adopted NCAA rule change now permits Division I programs to play each other in the preseason. The Boilermakers come to Rupp Arena on October 24.

“This is going to sound terrible and uncalculating,” Pope said during his Tuesday press conference. “But I love playing great teams all the time. I love it. I think it’s really important. Anytime there’s any chance we can get great teams to come into Rupp, we’re going to take it. If it’s in the exhibition season or the preseason or the conference season, we’ll take it.”

And according to Pope, Purdue isn’t the only exhibition coming to Kentucky’s preseason schedule this year.

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“We get an exhibition, we get Purdue, and we’re still working on another great exhibition game,” Pope recently said on The Sideline with Andy Katz. “I’m so grateful that the NCAA is allowing these Division I opponents in exhibition. We just should have more games. We need more games.”

Pope previously teased this second, top-tier exhibition when he spoke with the local media on Tuesday. It’s clearly something he’s excited about. Do we have any guesses? Is a return to Provo for a showdown with his former team, BYU, on the table? What about matchups with other projected top 10 teams such as Houston, Texas Tech, UConn, or Michigan?

Regardless of who ends up being on the other side of the floor, Kentucky will have plenty of opportunities throughout the season to prepare itself for another run in the NCAA Tournament.