< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. 12 @KentuckyMBB14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Hitting the Boards in Win Over Bison After being challenged by head coach Mark Pope during the week's practices, the Wildcats pounded the boards and snared 57 rebounds, including 22 on the offensive glass. It was the most rebounds for the Wildcats since hauling in 59 vs. Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016. Amari Williams led the way with 14 boards. He is just the fourth player in program history to tally 13 or more rebounds in each of his first two games with the pro- gram. The others are Dan Issel, Ju- lius Randle and Oscar Tshiebwe. Kentucky's success on the glass resulted in 19 second-chance points. Some additional notes from the win: • Koby Brea drained a ca- reer-high-tying six 3-pointers. He has made 10 of 12 (83.3%) in two games • Kerr Kriisa tied his career high with 12 assists. He added six points and four rebounds in the win • UK dished out an assist on 23 of 38 made field goals, an as- sist rate of 60.5%. Through two games, UK has an assist rate of 68.8% The Century "Mark" Kentucky opened the season by scoring 100 or more points in consecutive games. It marked the first time in 46 years, since the 1978-79 season, that UK hit the century mark in each of the first two outings. During his two-year active playing career at Kentucky, Pope was a part of 13 100-point outings for the Wildcats. The 1994-95 squad hit the mark four times, while the 1995-96 National Champions had nine such games. Know Your Opponent • This will be the first ranked opponent of the season for the Wildcats, with Duke owning a No. 6 ranking • Duke is 2-0 with home victories over Maine and Army • The Blue Devils are led by freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. Knueppel leads the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game, while Flagg is charting 15.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per outing • Duke's Jon Scheyer and Kenutcky's Mark Pope are both leading their alma matters. Scheyer is in his third year as head coach for Duke • The Blue Devils were picked to win the ACC, while Flagg is a frontrunner for player of the year honors • UK leads the all-time series with Duke by a 12-11 margin The Champions Classic Kentucky is 5-8 in Champions Classic games. Kentucky is 1-3 against Duke in the event. This will mark the first time the event has been held in Atlanta's State Farm Arena. The teams met in the Georgia Dome in 2013 (the only other time the event took place in Atlanta), with the No. 9 Blue Devils topping the No. 3 Cats by a 75-68 score. From Robin Hood Country to the Big Blue Nation Kentucky center Amari Williams, who hails from Nottingham, England, was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s preseason watch list for the 2025 Ka- reem Abdul-Jabbar. Named after the Naismith Hall of Famer and NBA all-time scoring leader, the award is in its 11th year. Williams has a pair of double-doubles to open his 2024-25 campaign. He had 12 points and 13 rebounds alongside three assists vs. Wright State, and then followed with 13 points and 14 rebounds vs. Bucknell. He is just the sev- enth player in program history with dou- ble-doubles in each of their first two games as Wildcats. Williams' double-double was in his de- but was . . . • The first for a player in his UK debut since Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler both accomplished the feat against Duke in 2021 • The 18th in program history by a play- er making his Kentucky debut in a season opener (stats date back to 1951)Thank You to Our CORNERSTONE PARTNERSNEAround the SEC Around the Country 2024-25 SEC Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Alabama 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Auburn 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Florida 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Georgia 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 LSU 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Ole Miss 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 2-0 1-0 1-0 Vanderbilt 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Oklahoma 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Arkansas 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 Missouri 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-1 South Carolina 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Texas 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 Texas A&M 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-1 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Johnson, Tre - Texas .....................................................28.50 Moore, Jalon - OK .......................................................22.00 Carter, Cam - LSU ........................................................21.00 Hubbard, Josh - MISS ST ..............................................20.50 Leffew, Dakota - UGA .................................................20.50 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG McGlockton, Devin - VU ............................................16.00 Godwin, Sam - OK ......................................................15.00 Williams, Amari - UK .................................................13.50 Murray-Boyles, Collin - SC .........................................11.50 Johnson, Chaney - AUB .................................................9.50 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Kriisa, Kerr - UK ............................................................8.50 Zeigler, Zakai - UT ........................................................8.00 Taylor IV, Wade - T&AM ................................................6.50 Philon, Labaron - UA ....................................................6.00 Miles, Duke - OK .........................................................6.00 Fears, Jeremiah - OK .....................................................6.00 Elvis, Kobe - OK ........................................................... 6.00 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Murrell, Matthew - MISS ...............................................4.50 Tanner, Tyler - VU .........................................................3.50 Martin, Alijah - UF ...................................................... 3.50 Mashack, Jahmai - UT ...................................................3.50 Richard, Will - UF ........................................................3.50 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Newell, Asa - UGA .......................................................3.50 Broome, Johni - AUB ....................................................3.50 McGlockton, Devin - VU ............................................. 3.00 Cyril, Somto - UGA .......................................................2.50 Alexis, Sam - UF ...........................................................2.50 2024-25 Associated Press Rankings As of November 1, 2024 (preseason) Team Record Points 1 Kansas (30) 0-0 1449 2 Alabama (14) 0-0 1428 3 UConn (11) 0-0 1345 4 Houston (4) 0-0 1343 5 Iowa State 0-0 1177 6 Gonzaga (1) 0-0 1157 7 Duke 0-0 1154 8 Baylor 0-0 1109 9 North Carolina 0-0 1037 10 Arizona 0-0 905 11 Auburn 0-0 901 12 Tennessee 0-0 775 13 Texas A&M 0-0 737 14 Purdue 0-0 678 15 Creighton 0-0 631 16 Arkansas 0-0 625 17 Indiana 0-0 492 18 Marquette 0-0 484 19 Texas 0-0 332 20 Cincinnati 0-0 271 21 Florida 0-0 249 22 UCLA 0-0 210 23 Kentucky 0-0 191 24 Ole Miss 0-0 132 25 Rutgers 0-0 102 18 @KentuckyMBBWe’re your Shield. 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We’re honored to be ranked the BEST Auto Insurance Company in the USA20 @KentuckyMBB 2024-25 Basketball Schedule Home Neutral Away FEB 8 LEXINGTON, KY 12:00 P.M. ESPN/ESPN2 SOUTH CAROLINA FEB 1 LEXINGTON, KY. 9:00 P.M. ESPN ARKANSAS FEB 11 LEXINGTON, KY 7:00 P.M. ESPN TENNESSEE FEB 4 OXFORD, MISS. 7:00 P.M. ESPN OLE MISS JAN 28 KNOXVILLE, TENN. 7:00 P.M. ESPN TENNESSEE JAN 25 NASHVILLE, TENN. 2:30 P.M. ESPN/ESPN2 VANDERBILT FEB 15 AUSTIN, TEXAS 8:00 P.M. ESPN TEXAS FEB 22 TUSCALOOSA, ALA. 6:OO P.M. ESPN ALABAMA FEB 26 NORMAN, OKLA. 9:00 P.M. SECN OKLAHOMA MAR 4 LEXINGTON, KY. TBA ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU LSU MAR 1 LEXINGTON, KY. TBA ABC/ESPN AUBURNVANDERBILT FEB 19 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. SECN MISSOURI MAR 8 COLUMBIA, MO. 12:00 P.M. ESPN/SECN SEC TOURNAMENT MAR 12-16 NASHVILLE, TENN. TBA TBA NCAA TOURNAMENT MAR-APRIL FINAL FOUR SAN ANTONIO TBA Scan for Updated Schedule JAN 18 LEXINGTON, KY. 12:OO P.M. ESPN ALABAMA DEC 31 LEXINGTON, KY. 2:00 P.M. ESPNU BROWNGEORGIA JAN 7 ATHENS, GA. 7:00 P.M. SECN MISSISSIPPI STATE JAN 11 STARKVILLE, MISS. 8:30 P.M. SECN JAN 4 LEXINGTON, KY. 11:00 A.M. ESPN FLORIDA JAN 14 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. ESPN2/ESPNU TEXAS A&M NOV 29 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. SECN GEORGIA STATE DEC 3 CLEMSON, S.C. 9:30 P.M. ESPN CLEMSON SEC/ACC Challenge DEC 11 LEXINGTON, KY. 8:00 P.M. ESPN2 COLGATE DEC 14 LEXINGTON, KY. 5:15 P.M. ESPN LOUISVILLE DEC 7 SEATTLE 10:00 P.M. ESPN2 GONZAGA Battle in Seattle DEC 21 NEW YORK 5:30 P.M. CBS OHIO STATE CBS Sports Classic NOV 4 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 103-62 WRIGHT STATE NOV 9 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 100-72 BUCKNELL NOV 12 ATLANTA 9:00 P.M. ESPN DUKE Champions Classic NOV 19 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. SECN+ LIPSCOMB BBN Invitational NOV 22 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. SECN+ JACKSON STATE BBN Invitational|Unity Series NOV 26 LEXINGTON, KY. 6:30 P.M. ESPNU WESTERN KENTUCKY BBN InvitationalSUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! The Mark Pope ShowNext >