Kentucky
Ranking UK's non-conference basketball opponents
Kentucky’s basketball program has announced a number of non-conference games scheduled for the 2025-26 season and right now it’s a blockbuster lineup of marquee matchups.
That doesn’t even include Purdue, a national contender which will face Kentucky in an exhibition at Rupp Arena on Friday, Oct. 24.
Kentucky is slated to face St. John’s, Louisville, Gonzaga, and Michigan State in the non-conference portion of the schedule. With much more scheduling set to be revealed, here’s an attempt at ranking those four opponents based on what they look like on paper.
Note: Kentucky also has non-conference games scheduled against Bellarmine and North Carolina Central.
1. St. John’s
At the end of last month Jon Rothstein made the assertion that St. John’s will have the most talented roster in college basketball next season. Now, that doesn’t mean all of the parts will fit perfectly or that it’s the best assembled roster, but Pitino has the talent to be keep St. John’s in the headlines all season. The Red Storm will be regarded as a national contender. Zuby Ejiofor returns (14.7 PPG) and Pitino, a defensive mastermind, should have a starting five made up of only players who averaged double digits at high-major stops last season. They’re transfer heavy with UNC’s Ian Jackson, Arizona State’ Joson Sanon, Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, and Stanford’s Oziyah Sellers as some of their key pieces.
2. Louisville
Pat Kelsey took the Louisville Cardinals to the NCAA tournament in Year One after a lot of work in the portal and after another strong portal haul it looks like he has one of the best backcourts in college basketball. Virginia’s Isaac McNeely and Xavier’s Ryan Conwell provide punch from the portal and Mikel Brown Jr is one of UofL’s best recruits in years, and a couple of key pieces have returned. This looks like one of the ACC’s best teams and they could be a top-10 squad preseason.
3. Michigan State
The Spartans look like a top-25 squad but probably not top-10 in the preseason according to the way too early polls that are floating around. The Spartans will be relying heavily on a couple of smaller program transfers in Kaleb Glenn from FAU and Trey Fort from Samford. Big man Jaxon Kohler needs to take a step forward this offseason. This looks like another interesting MSU team and Tom Izzo could get them to the second weekend of the tournament.
4. Gonzaga
Gonzaga loses quite a bit so Mark Few will have to put plenty of new parts together. Graham Ike is a great foundation piece in the middle after averaging 17.3 points per game last year. Braden Huff gives them a nice one-two punch down low but the backcourt is a question. The Zags have a couple of guards who sat out last year but will carry a heavy workload in ’25-26.
5. Indiana
IU has to replace several players who averaged double digits last season and they hit the portal big-time. WVU’s Tucker DeVries, Sam Houston State’s Lamar Wilkerson, Davidson’s Reed Bailey and Troy’s Tayton Conerway are some of the additions. Expectations will probably be lower for IU than the other teams on this list because of the extent of the overhaul and the new regime.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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