Nate Sestina was on the phone with his agent on Friday when he received a FaceTime call from Mark Pope ahead of Kentucky’s matchup vs. Bucknell on Saturday.

“The first thing he asked me was, ‘Who are you cheering for tomorrow?’”

Sestina started his career as a Bison and graduated from the school in 2019 before finishing as a Wildcat, heading to Lexington as a grad transfer for the 2019-20 season. He was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection as a senior at Bucknell before taking on a crucial bench role at Kentucky to wrap up his time in college, averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 40.7 percent from three — a sniper reserve piece.

It’s a difficult question for a guy like Sestina, who got his start and made a name for himself at Bucknell before creating new blue-blood memories at Kentucky — his new home, living in Lexington with his fiancee Madison Lilley during the offseason when he’s not hooping professionally in Spain.

“I was like, ‘It’s a tough one.’ He’s like, ‘I know you’re a Bucknell guy, but you’re still Kentucky Wildcat.’ … It’s a win-win for me, you know?”

Bucknell head coach John Griffin III was an assistant there when Sestina was a Bison, someone who “changed my perspective and trajectory as a young man,” he said. The former Wildcat reached out to Griffin leading up to the matchup and told him to make the most of the opportunity — he knows from experience you don’t get to play at Rupp Arena every day. Go try to win the game, obviously, but soak up the moment, too.

He remembers being in the players’ shoes going into a matchup like this, also against a blue-blood with all of the bells and whistles.

“When I was at Bucknell and we played high-major schools, part of it is you get to go play in a cool arena. For us, we played North Carolina and they have all the Jordans on the wall when you go through the locker room,” he said. “You soak in the experience. But you also want to compete. These guys, looking at these high-major teams when you’re a mid-major guy, that’s where you want to be. That’s where you want to get to, those are your goals.

“Whoever my matchup was, that’s who I wanted to go after. I wanted to gun, prove that mid-major guys are as good as high-major guys, it’s just a matter of time. The team Coach Griffin has put together the last two years he’s been there, you’re gonna have a bunch of scrappy junkyard dogs — guys diving on the floor and taking charges, guys getting excited and cheering their teammates on. The approach is that you want to enjoy it.

“This is a cool opportunity, you get to play Kentucky. How cool is that?”

It’s why he celebrated the matchup when it was announced. He knew how difficult it’d be to pick a side, but he’s been in both of those locker rooms and remembers what life was like as a mid-major looking for a shot and as a high-major after earning one.

Now he gets to celebrate both parts of his basketball journey.

“When I first saw it, my words were, ‘Oh, hell yeah! Let’s go!’ Bucknell is one of the most special places and a special program, it’s near and dear to my heart,” Sestina told KSR. “It helped shape me into the player that I ended up becoming and being able to become when I came to Kentucky.

“It’s weird that I have to choose a side — maybe I have to split it half by half and go first half Bucknell, second half Kentucky. I’m not sure yet, but I’m really excited. This is an awesome opportunity for Coach Griffin to play against the juggernaut that is the University of Kentucky.

“It’s a good opportunity for Kentucky to play against another good mid-major school and good mid-major programs.”

But there can only be one. Who is it gonna be, Nate?

“It doesn’t hurt me, but it hurts me. I think Kentucky is gonna get ’em, but the score? I don’t know,” Sestina said. “If Kentucky is hitting threes, it could get — I don’t know what Bucknell’s 3-point shooting is like, but I know they’re solid and run great plays. I know Coach Pope is fast-paced with lots of threes, so playing the law of averages, I’m gonna say a 15-point win. I’ll go with 88-73 (Kentucky).

“If I’m right, when I come back to Lexington, you gotta take me to Tony’s.”

Deal.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball’s assist-to-turnover ratio has been exemplary through its two preseason exhibitions and 2024-25 opener.

The numbers:

The level of competition has to be considered, of course. The Wildcats’ exhibitions were against a pair of Division II clubs. And Wright State was picked to finish fifth in the 11-team Horizon League this season.

Even Kentucky coach Mark Pope acknowledged none of those opponents were “built around turning you over,” with Bucknell coming to town for a matchup this afternoon.

“Our guys have been really focused on protecting the ball,” Pope said. “We actually try not to talk about turnovers very much. We talk about protecting the ball. And more importantly with protecting the ball, we talk about how we do it.”

Those concepts, ones Pope and his staff emphasize each day, already have begun taking hold.

“The reason we will continue to do well in the turnover game is because our guys, they don’t play to not turn the ball over; they’re playing to win gaps right and to get to 2 feet, and they’re playing to make two-hand plays,” Pope said. “And I’ve been really proud of that.

“Actually, (the shots) our guys have turned down so far has probably been more special to us than what they’ve taken.”

Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home:

UK and Bucknell are slated to tip off at 4 p.m. today at Rupp Arena.

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 23 ½-point home favorite (-110) on DraftKings, which set the over-under at152 points. The money line odds areUK -10000, Bucknell +3000.

The contest between the Wildcats and Bison will not air on a traditional TV channel.

Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+.

Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.

Those without access to SEC Network+ can access coverage via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click 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.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

Saturday’s game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Bucknell Bison is not going to be an easy game for the home team.

The Bison are returning five of their top six scorers from a year ago, and this is a really good defensive team. Bucknell only gave up 67.1 points per game last year, and they could make this game a grind-it-out game for the Wildcats.

This is Kentucky’s last game before they play Duke next Tuesday in the Champions Classic. Let’s look at Players to Watch on the Bucknell Bison heading into Saturday afternoon.

Players to Watch

1. #3 Noah Williamson 7’0” 250 lbs. Jr. Center Riga, Latvia
Williamson is off to a hot start through Bucknell’s first two games this season. He’s averaging 25.5 points per game and is 15-24 from the field. Williamson is also averaging 10.5 rebounds per game. He was a Third Team All-Patriot League selection after finishing fourth in the league in rebounding and eighth in scoring and blocks, and he also had six 20-point games and four double-doubles.

2. #13 Josh Bascoe 6’0” 180 lbs. Sr. Guard Milton, Ontario
Bascoe is also off to a strong start with 16.5 points per game on 43.5 percent from the field and 4/10 from 3-point range. He also leads the team with 36 minutes per game.

3. #1 Ian Motta 6’6” 195 lbs. Sr. Forward Allen, Texas
Motta is averaging 11.5 points per game with 5.5 rebounds per game on 9/17 shooting from the field.

4. #5 Elvin Edmonds IV 6’2” 190 lbs. Sr. Guard Hopewell, Va.
Edmonds is averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds per game through Bucknell’s first two games. He’s also second on the team with 31 minutes per game. Edmonds’s durability isn’t something new, for he was second in the Patriot League with 34.3 minutes per game last year. It was a year where Edmonds was also third in the Patriot League in assists, fifth in steals, and 15th in scoring. Edmonds is Hopewell High School’s all-time scoring (1,662) and three-point field goals (240) leader.

5. #22 Ruot Bijiek 6’9” 190 lbs. Jr. Forward Waukee, Iowa
Bijiek is averaging seven points and four rebounds per game through two games this season. He’s 5/8 from the field and 4/6 from 3-point range. He scored 11 points in a road loss to Duke last season.

Head Coach: John Griffin III (2nd season) Griffin is no stranger to Bucknell. He played for the Bison and led them to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006. That 2005 Bison team upset Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2006, Bucknell broke through and was ranked in the AP Top 25 on their way to a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they would knock off Arkansas in the first round. Griffin is the all-time leader in Bucknell program history with 220 three-point field goals.

As a coach, Griffin was on the Bison staff for four seasons as an assistant from 2015 to 2019. Bucknell went to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2018 and won four Patriot League Championships. The Bison went 14-19 with a 10-8 Patriot League record last year in Griffin’s first season as a head coach.

Notable Bucknell Alumni

Christy Mathewson: Mathewson is in the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. With 373 career wins, Mathewson won two World Series, two pitching Triple Crowns, and led the National League in wins four times and ERA and strikeouts five times. Fun fact: he played for the Reds in 1916 and managed them from 1916-1918.

Leslie Moonves: Moonves is the former chairman and CEO of CBS from 2003-18. He is married to Julie Chen, the host of the popular reality TV show Big Brother, which airs on CBS.

Keys to the Game

1. Patience: Bucknell is going to try and slow the pace of the game down to a slog. If you’re Kentucky, just accept that this is going to be a grind-it-out style of game. Shot selection will be at a premium as a result.

2. Don’t look ahead to Duke: This is a new-look Kentucky team, a completely new-look Kentucky team. With Duke looming on Tuesday, that’s where their focus can’t be. It has to be in this game against a tenacious Bucknell team.

3. Get off to a fast start: Getting off to a fast start can speed Bucknell up, and that’s not their style of play. That would be an advantage for Kentucky.

Score Prediction: Kentucky 78, Bucknell 67