UK basketball game times and TV info have been finalized. Here’s how to watch the Cats.

Finally, game times and TV information for the 2024-25 University of Kentucky men’s basketball season are official.

UK announced that info for nearly all of the Wildcats’ schedule Thursday afternoon, with the regular season opener in Rupp Arena — the first real game of the Mark Pope era — now less than four weeks away.

Kentucky will tip off its season at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 against Wright State in Rupp Arena, and the game will air live on ESPNU. This will be the first game as UK’s head coach for Pope, who spent the past five seasons leading BYU’s program and was hired in April to replace John Calipari, who left for Arkansas after 15 years in Lexington.

Pope’s Cats will also play Bucknell at 4 p.m. on Nov. 9 — that game will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus — before what’s expected to be their first major test of the season: a Champions Classic matchup against Duke in Atlanta at 9 p.m. on Nov. 12. That UK-Duke game will be on ESPN.

Kentucky’s 2024-25 game dates were finalized last month, but, until Thursday, only the games against Duke, Clemson (9:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 on ESPN) and Ohio State (5:30 p.m. on Dec. 21 on CBS) had designated times and TV info.

Now, the only game that’s still TBA on the regular-season schedule is the date with Gonzaga in Seattle on Dec. 7. The time and TV info for that matchup have not yet been released.

Other highlights on the UK schedule:

▪ UK will host Western Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU) on Nov. 26.

▪ The annual rivalry game against Louisville is set for 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) on Dec. 14 in Rupp.

▪ SEC play gets started at home against Florida at 11 a.m. (ESPN) on Jan. 4.

▪ The Cats host preseason SEC favorite Alabama at noon (ESPN) on Jan. 18.

▪ Calipari returns to Rupp for the UK-Arkansas game at 9 p.m. (ESPN) on Feb. 1.

Big Blue Madness is set for 7 p.m. Friday on the SEC Network, and the Cats will play exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 23 and Minnesota State on Oct. 29, both of which will be streamed live at 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.

The program’s Blue-White Preseason Event in Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 18 is not expected to be televised, as of Thursday afternoon. That event, which replaces the annual Blue-White Game, is being used as an NIL fundraiser, and the only way for fans to see it will be to attend in person. Tickets for the Blue-White Preseason Event are already on sale.

Other than the CBS Sports Classic matchup against Ohio State, all of Kentucky’s games will air on one of the ESPN-affiliated channels. The two exhibitions and three early regular season games will streamed live on SEC Network Plus.

Only four games on the schedule will have a planned start time of 9 p.m. or later: the Duke, Clemson and Arkansas games, and UK’s trip to Oklahoma (9 p.m. on Feb. 26). The Cats’ home finale against LSU on March 4 could also be a late one. It’s designated as either a 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. tip.

2024-25 UK men’s basketball schedule

Oct. 23: 1-KENTUCKY WESLEYAN, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

Oct. 29: 1-MINNESOTA STATE, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

Nov. 4: WRIGHT STATE, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

Nov. 9: BUCKNELL, 4 p.m. (SEC+)

Nov. 12: 2-Duke, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Nov. 19: 3-LIPSCOMB, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

Nov. 22: 3-JACKSON STATE, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

Nov. 26: 3-WESTERN KENTUCKY, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Nov. 29: GEORGIA STATE, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Dec. 3: 4-At Clemson, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Dec. 7: 5-Gonzaga, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)

Dec. 11: COLGATE, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Dec. 14: LOUISVILLE, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Dec. 21: 6-Ohio State, 5:30 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 31: BROWN, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

Jan. 4: FLORIDA, 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 7: At Georgia, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 11: At Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 14: TEXAS A&M, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU)

Jan. 18: ALABAMA, Noon (ESPN)

Jan. 25: At Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)

Jan. 28: At Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 1: ARKANSAS, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 4: At Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 8: SOUTH CAROLINA, Noon (ESPN or ESPN2)

Feb. 11: TENNESSEE, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 15: At Texas, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 19: VANDERBILT, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Feb. 22: At Alabama, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Feb. 26: At Oklahoma, 9 p.m. (SEC)

March 1: AUBURN, 1 or 4 p.m. (ABC or ESPN)

March 4: LSU, 7 or 9 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU)

March 8: At Missouri, Noon (ESPN or SEC)

March 12-16: 7-SEC Tournament

1-Exhibition game; 2-Champions Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta; 3-BBN Invitational in Rupp Arena; 4-SEC/ACC Challenge at Littlejohn Coliseum; 5-Battle in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena; 6-CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York; 7-SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

This story was originally published October 10, 2024 at 2:24 PM.

Ben Roberts

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-429-2848

Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription