The grueling off-season without college basketball is still in its darkest of days, but fans of the Kentucky Wildcats got a gift to fill the dead air: the release of men’s basketball’s 2024-25 conference schedule.

Mark Pope and the newly put together Wildcats will finish up non-conference play against Brown on Dec. 31 and will kick off the long race for the new coach’s first SEC regular season title in January.

Saturday, Jan. 4, vs. Florida

The Cats will welcome the Gators in their first conference matchup of the year.

Last year, the two sides dueled against each other twice with Kentucky taking the first in Gainesville and dropping the second at home.

This year, the two programs will only meet once and, like last year’s games, fans can expect to see some eye-appealing hoops as the Gators are returning Second Team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. while also stocking up through the portal, gaining Alijah Martin, who is a 6-foot, 2-inch guard that played a pivotal role for Florida Atlantic (FAU) during its magical run to the Final Four in 2023.

Florida is also the new home of Olivier Roux, a 7-foot, 9-inch freshman center who holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s tallest teenager.

In the two seasons that head coach Todd Golden has been at the helm, the Gators have built a 40-29 overall record and a 20-16 SEC record.

Fans can expect to see a phenomenal battle out of these two sides to start conference play.

Tuesday, Jan. 7, or Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Georgia

While Georgia may blow over most minds as an “easy win,” the Bulldogs have some pieces that can shake the Wildcats, especially in Athens.

Before getting in depth on the new UGA roster, it’s also important to highlight who won’t be a part of it as Noah Thomasson, who led the Dawgs with a team-high 13.1 points per game, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who averaged 12.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists, have both departed. Thomasson is now overseas in Türkiye while Abdur-Rahim transferred to Providence.

Staying in Athens, however, was Blue Cain, a sophomore guard out of Knoxville, Tennessee, who is expected to play a larger role with the Dawgs this upcoming campaign. Last season, the 6-foot, 5-inch young gun averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists through 37 games played.

Georgia will also have a major force in the paint as it tacked on a name that may be familiar to the Big Blue Nation: freshman four-star recruit Somto Cyril.

Cyril, who is a 6-foot, 10-inch center originally signed his national letter of intent to Kentucky back in November before entering the portal following the departure of former Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

Whoever Pope decides to throw in the paint to mix it up with Cyril should be able to handle the freshman, but it won’t be easy as the Overtime Elite product is listed at 240 pounds and was seen squatting 415 pounds with one leg back when he was still committed to Kentucky.

It won’t be easy, but Amari Williams and Andrew Carr — who are two out of four Kentucky centers and both graduate students — will be able to use their college basketball experience to their advantage, leaving the door open to pick up on rookie mistakes that Cyril might commit.

Brandon Garrison, who is a sophomore, and Ansley Almonor, who is a senior, will both be able to compete in the paint with their height and physicality as well.

Saturday, Jan. 11, at Mississippi State

From the obnoxious ringing of cowbells in Mississippi to Reed Sheppard’s thrilling buzzer beater last season, UK’s trip to Starkville won’t be lacking in storylines.

Following a positive run to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed last year that was highlighted by making the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2010, the Bulldogs will be looking for revenge and it all starts with Josh Hubbard, who is returning to the maroon and white.

Hubbard led Mississippi State in points per game last season, averaging 17.1 points. The guard will be left to work without his teammate Tolu Smith, who exhausted his eligibility and sat behind him in points per game with 15.

While Smith is gone, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans brought in six transfers with the group highlighted by former Florida Gator Riley Kugel.

Kugel touched the hardwood in 33 contests for the Gators while starting in 11 of them. Through those competitions, the Orlando, Florida, native averaged 9.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. 

Like it has been the past handful of seasons, Mississippi State will be one of the more competitive teams UK will face and a sneaky pick for a potential January upset.

Tuesday, Jan. 14, or Wednesday, Jan. 15, vs. Texas A&M

After back-to-back road games, the Cats will host the Aggies, a team centered around rising senior Wade Taylor IV.

Taylor IV averaged 19.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and four assists this past season, a small jump from his average of 16.3, 2.7 and 3.9 the year prior.

As Taylor IV does his part on the hardwood, the Aggies have a key piece returning in Solomon Washington as well as a solid newcomer in Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne.

Washington averaged 7.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and contributed an average of a little over one block per game. He stands at 6-feet, 7-inches tall with visible athleticism.

On the topic of tall and athletic, Payne will look to bring his on-court success from Minneapolis to College Station as he had a good go-around as one of the main pieces on the Golden Gophers squad.

Standing at 6-feet, 9-inches tall, Payne averaged 10 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks throughout the span of the season. He was fourth on Minnesota in scoring average and sat just 0.2 points behind Mike Mitchell Jr.

Saturday, Jan. 18, vs. Alabama 

After Kentucky hung up 117 points on the Crimson Tide last season in a 22-point win at Rupp Arena, Nate Oats and his troops will surely be out for revenge.

After starring in its first Final Four in program history last season, Alabama is getting two mammoth-sized returns in Grant Nelson and Mark Sears.

On top of returning Sears, who averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and four assists, and Nelson, who averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 assists, Oats was also able to solicit four-star Rutgers transfer Clifford Omoruyi and four-star transfer Aden Holloway from Auburn.

Ignoring the blasphemy of going from Auburn to Alabama, the Tide are also welcoming some other gritty transfers in Chris Youngblood from South Florida (USF) and Houston Mallette from Pepperdine.

UK will also play Bama again on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Tuscaloosa, looking to avenge a 26-point loss from two years prior.

The matchup may be a rough one for UK as most college basketball insiders predict Oats’ squad to be back in the Final Four this season.

Saturday, Jan. 25, at Vanderbilt

The Commodores enter a fresh season after a rough outing last year that resulted in a 9-23 overall record accompanied by a 4-14 record in SEC play.

Vanderbilt will look to move in a better direction throughout the 2024-25 season, but will have to find a way to do it without its points-per-game leader Ezra Manjon, who ran out of eligibility.

The Commodores do have a glimpse of hope, though, as the program hired former James Madison coach Mark Byington, who led the Dukes to their most successful four-season stretch in 30 years.

Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Tennessee

The Volunteers — like has been the case in years prior — should shape up to be extremely competitive in 2024-25.

Rick Barnes brought in Chaz Lanier, a 6-foot, 4-inch transfer from North Florida, who is expected to do wonders for the Volunteers as he is coming off of a season in which he averaged 19.7 points per game while being named to the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) First Team All-Conference list.

Last year’s SEC Player of the Year and heartbeat of the Vols Dalton Knecht was drafted No. 17 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers, so his expected departure was a huge blow for Tennessee. Despite that, the hope in Rocky Top is that Lanier can fill in his shoes as the transfer that gives life and to the squad while also bringing huge point performances.

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, or Wednesday, Feb. 12, Kentucky will host a rematch in Rupp Arena.

It is tough for any team to win in Thompson-Boling Arena and the Cats will have to dig their claws deep if they want to climb to the top of Rocky Top.

Saturday, Feb. 1, vs. Arkansas

In a matchup that has the potential to be the most-viewed game of the season, John Calipari will return to his old Kentucky home for the first time as the head coach of Arkansas after being at the helm of Kentucky for 15 seasons.

While fans can only speculate if Calipari will be greeted with open arms or boos, one thing is for sure: once the ball tips-off, all the chatter goes out the window and the one focus becomes winning.

With the massive news of Calipari returning to Rupp, most forget about the impact that the game will have on DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivišić, the three freshmen who played at Kentucky last season before following Calipari to Fayetteville.

Like he did at UK, Wagner is expected to play a pivotal position in red while Thiero is also expected to flourish this season in his new threads. Ivišić, the fan-favorite from Croatia, only averaged 11.7 minutes per game last season, but that number is expected to rise after having a good chunk of time to adjust to American basketball. 

If there was ever a time for advice, it would be that fans should secure their tickets as soon as possible before they sell out because they’re certain not to be on the market for long.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, or Wednesday, Feb. 5, at Ole Miss

Ole Miss is losing a major talent in Allen Flanigan, who was second on the team in points per game with 16.2 points, but is returning Matthew Murrell, who led the team in points per game last season with 16.2, Jaylen Murray, who averaged 13.8 points per game, and Jaemyn Brakefield, who was second on the team in rebounds per game with 4.9.

On top of re-starting their old engines, the Rebels are adding Seton Hall transfer Dre Davis, who averaged 15 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Ole Miss could turn out to be a strong team next season and can definitely give the Cats a run for their money, particularly in Oxford.

Saturday, Feb. 8, vs. South Carolina

South Carolina made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 last season and will look to go back, though it will have to find a way without Meechie Johnson Jr., who transferred to Ohio State, and B.J. Mack, who ran out of eligibility.

The next man up will be returner Collin Murray-Boyles, who is entering his second collegiate season. The 6-foot, 7-inch forward put up 10.4 points a night last year while averaging 22.8 minutes. 

Two new faces who will look to support Murray-Boyles are freshman Cam Scott, a four-star shooting guard who was ranked as the No. 1 best player in South Carolina, and four-star Alabama transfer Nick Pringle. Pringle averaged 18.2 minutes on a loaded Alabama roster while contributing 6.8 points per game. The 6-foot, 10-inch forward is expected to take a leap of progress this year.

Saturday, Feb. 15, at Texas

With Texas’ move to the SEC, the Cats have a new opponent in the Longhorns.

Kentucky holds a 2-0 all-time record against the Longhorns with the two wins coming in 1993 as a part of the Maui Invitational and 2014 as a part of the SEC/Big 12 challenge.

Texas is saying goodbye to nine players from last year’s roster and, unfortunately for the new SEC member, four of them were the top four scorers in the logbook. Those include former Oral Roberts hero Max Abmas, Dylan Disu, Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell.

The Longhorns are adding six new players courtesy of the portal and one of the biggest name’s coming in is Kansas State transfer Arthur Kaluma.

Kaluma is a 6-foot, 7-inch forward who began his career and played two seasons at Creighton before transferring to Kansas State for his junior year where he averaged 14.4 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Texas also added guard Tramon Mark from Arkansas and he, too, can ball out on a night-to-night basis. With the Razorbacks, the Dickinson, Texas, native averaged 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists through 31 games played and 28 starts.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, or Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Oklahoma

The Cats will also be on the road to take on the other new SEC opponent in Oklahoma.

Like Texas, the Cats haven’t crossed paths with the Sooners many times as the two only competed against each other three times. With the last contest dating back to 2010, Kentucky holds a 3-0 all-time record against the Sooners.

Oklahoma’s strongest player, Javian McCollum, transferred to Georgia Tech while its second best scorer, Otega Oweh, joined Kentucky.

Moving one slot lower on the points per game sheet in third, the Sooners will still be accompanied by Jalon Moore, who averaged 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds.

A new face that will be cruising the streets of Norman is Duke Miles, a 6-foot, 3-inch guard transfer High Point. With the Panthers, Miles averaged 17.5 points a night while also stamping his name as the Big South Newcomer of the Year.

The Sooners will also have some young help as four-star upcoming freshman Jeremiah Fears reclassed from 2025 to 2024. Fears is listed as the No. 42 player in the nation and No. 1 player in Arizona per 247 Sports’ composite rankings.

The Cats will look to attain an early win in what will be multiple years of future matchups with Oklahoma.

Saturday, March 1, vs. Auburn

Following a flight back from Oklahoma, the Cats will host Auburn, which is returning Third Team all-American, First Team All-SEC and 2024 SEC Tournament MVP Johni Broome. Broome stands at 6-feet, 10-inches tall and has the outright ability to boost the play of those around him.

Speaking of those around him, the Tigers are welcoming some new faces in Furman transfer JP Pegues and Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly. Pegues and Kelly led both of their former programs in points per game with 18.4 and 13.9.

Bruce Pearl looks to gain vengeance on the Cats after they stormed into Neville Arena and beat his Tigers when they were ranked No. 13 in the country last season.

Tuesday, March 4, or Wednesday, March 5, vs. LSU

The Tigers have battled the past two years but haven’t been able to find their rhythm since last making the NCAA Tournament in 2022 after firing former coach Will Wade.

LSU is losing its top three scorers in Jalen Cook, Jordan Wright and Will Baker, but on the positive side of things it is returning 6-foot, 6-inch forward Tyrell Ward, who has grown the past two years in Baton Rouge. His first season was poor, averaging just 3.7 points and 14.2 minutes, but last season he had a positive sign of development as he saw his points per game average jump up to 9.1 along with his minutes per game. 

Starting fresh in Baton Rouge is Kansas State transfer Cam Carter, who averaged 14.6 points, five rebounds and 2.6 assists last year, along with three incoming four-star freshmen in Robert Miller III, Curtis Givens III and Vyctorius Miller. LSU is also adding three-star freshman Noah Boyde.

Saturday, March 8, at Missouri

Last but not least is Missori as the Cats head over to Columbia and look to grab a win before heading into SEC Tournament play.

The Tigers only have seven listed players on their roster and one of those is Tamar Bates, who was second in points per game last season with 13.5. 

Missouri head coach Dennis Gates has a lifeless 11-25 SEC record at the helm of the Tigers over the past two seasons and fans won’t be shocked if the trend continues this season. 

If all goes well, UK should be able to end the regular season on a strong note.