Vote: How many games will Kentucky basketball win in Mark Pope’s debut season?

Rarely have Kentucky basketball fans entered a new season knowing so little about what to expect.

When the 2024-25 season tips off Nov. 4 against Wright State, the Wildcats will take the floor with an entirely new coaching staff and a completely different roster of players from the group last seen in Rupp Arena on March 6.

It could be argued that John Calipari’s talented parade of one-and-done freshmen generated a 15-year churn of uncharted territory. True. And, in its own way, similarly difficult to handicap.

The one constant though was the Hall of Fame head coach. With Calipari now in Arkansas and Mark Pope in charge of the Big Blue, Kentucky is under leadership — from a coaching standpoint at least — unproven at the blue-blood level.

Meanwhile, rosters once filled with five-star draft picks have been replaced by a soundly constructed collection of transfers and rookies that nobody — at least not yet — is forecasting for NBA greatness.

Now it’s time to embrace the unknown. It’s all you have. Maybe for better. Possibly for worse.

Please vote in our poll below, and tell us how successful you think Pope’s debut season will be.

The former UK national champion on the court might hang another banner as a head coach before all is said and done. However bright or dim your view of Kentucky’s men’s basketball future, for the purpose of today’s exercise do your best to look at the schedule released this week and focus on this season and this season alone.

And let’s get a fix on where the fans are setting the bar for 2024-25.