The Kentucky Wildcats are about to tip off a new era of men’s basketball, as the Cats will welcome the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers to Rupp Arena for their first exhibition of the season.

With Mark Pope now leading the charge, the fanbase is very excited heading into the first few games of this season, as the BBN will officially get a taste of what the fast-paced offense is going to look like under the new regime.

Add in the excellent shooting, and the Cats should bring a fast-paced, potentially high-scoring offense to the court this year.

However, their first matchup with KWC should be a decent test. The Panthers had a great season in 2023-24, finishing 21-9 and 15-5 in conference play. That included an exhibition win at Louisville. The Panthers landed a 2-seed in the NCAA Division II tournament but got upset in the first round.

The Panthers will bring an experienced squad full of upperclassmen to Lexington, so the Cats must be prepared for a veteran-heavy squad,

Alongside a new-look offense, Kentucky will look to bolster a new style of defense under Coach Pope as well. With some big-time matchups coming up in the next few weeks, the hope is this team will start to build some chemistry on that end of the court as well.

Overall, it should be an exciting night as the new-look Cats take the floor. With a whole new roster and coaching staff, the fanbase will have a lot to learn heading into the regular season.

That starts with the exhibition game on Wednesday.

This first game will be streaming only and will be featured on the SEC Network+. So get the TVs and computers ready, folks, as each exhibition game will be featured through the streaming service.

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball vs. Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers

Date & Time: Wednesday 23rd at 7 PM ET

Location: Rupp Arena

TV Channel: N/A

Online Stream: SEC Network+

Replay: SEC Network+

Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Jack Givens

Rosters: UK I KWC

What are you watching for in this matchup? Send us your thoughts in the comments section!

Go Cats!