Mark Pope will immediately be put to test with Kentucky’s non-conference schedule

The University of Kentucky men's college basketball program is experiencing a change of guard this upcoming campaign. After a long and fruitful 15-year tenure, ex-head coach John Calipari elected to leave Lexington and take his talents to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

With Calipari headed for what he hopes will be greener pastures at Arkansas to coach the Razorbacks, Mark Pope will assume the Kentucky position. The latter was a captain of the Wildcats' 1996 national championship team, making this opportunity a full-circle moment for him.

Pope and the Wildcats will get tried immediately based upon first glance at their non-conference schedule for 2024-25. As Big Blue Nation ushers in the post-Calipari era, the transition may not go as smoothly as fans hope, thanks to the team's challenging list of opponents.

Mark Pope will get tested immediately with Kentucky’s non-conference schedule

Kentucky kicks off the Pope epoch with 13 straight non-SEC games, beginning with a home matchup against the Wright State Raiders on Nov. 4. But the contest virtually everyone in Lexington has marked on their calendars is Nov. 12, when the Wildcats face the Duke Blue Devils.

Duke and Kentucky will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet in the Champions Classic in a star-studded affair of highly touted recruits. Blue Devils big man Cooper Flagg, the consensus 2025 No. 1 overall NBA Draft prospect, will headline the intriguing out-of-conference clash.

Fast forwarding to Dec. 3, Pope and Kentucky will trek to Littlejohn Coliseum to face the Clemson Tigers. Yes, the ACC foe lost its top two scorers from last season. Nonetheless, they'll be eager to prove their first Elite Eight since 1980 wasn'ta fluke.

Afterward, Pope will try to outduel renowned head coach Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Battle for Seattle on Dec. 7. 

Most notably, Kentucky and the Louisville Cardinals will continue one of the most heated rivalries in collegiate sports on Dec. 14 at Rupp Arena. With only 79.7 miles separating the respective campuses, the stakes get raised significantly in the competition for hometown supremacy.