Takeaways from Kentucky basketball adding three new opponents to the 2025-26 schedule

What can we take away from Kentucky's three new opponents on the schedule?

Feb 8, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with guard Otega Oweh (00) during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

After adding three more games to the docket, the 2025-26 schedule is complete for Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats. Matchups with Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, and Nicholls have been added as part of the BBN United Tipoff Classic.

Now that it is fully completed, let's take a look at the entire 2025-26 Kentucky basketball schedule.

Kentucky Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

Non-Conference Schedule

Exhibitions: October 24th vs. Purdue and October 30th vs. Georgetown

November 4th: Vs. Nicholls

November 7th: Vs. Valparaiso

November 11th: @ Louisville

November 14th: Vs. Eastern Illinois

November 18th: Champions Classic Vs. Michigan State (Madison Square Garden)

November 21st: Vs. Loyola Maryland

November 26th: Vs. Tennessee Tech

December 2nd: ACC/SEC Challenge vs. North Carolina

December 5th: Vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee)

December 9th: Vs. North Carolina Central

December 13th: Vs. Indiana

December 20th: CBS Sports Class vs. St John's (State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia)

December 23rd: Vs. Bellarmine

SEC Schedule

Home

Missouri: January 6th or 7th

Mississippi State: January 10th

Texas: January 20th or 21st

Ole Miss: January 24th

Oklahoma: February 3rd

Tennessee: February 7th

Georgia: February 17th or 18th

Vanderbilt February 28th

Florida: March 7th

Away

Alabama: January 3rd

LSU: January 13th or 14th

Tennessee: January 17th

Vanderbilt: January 27th or 28th

Arkansas: January 31st

Florida: February 14th

Auburn: February 21st

South Carolina: February 24th or 25th

Texas A&M: March 3rd or 4th

Takeaways from Kentucky's full 2025-26 schedule

The Kentucky Wildcats are once again going to have a tough schedule, but the three games that were just added to finish the schedule won't add much to it.

Kentucky fans would absolutely love to see Pope's team play in one of the midseason tournaments like the Maui Invitational. Coach Pope has said that he would love to play in an event like this at some point, so the athletic department needs to make it happen.

While the three games that Kentucky added to the schedule aren't that challenging, the overall non-conference slate is tough.

The Wildcats are going to be playing a handful of preseason top 25 teams before SEC play even begins, which will be a big help for this basketball team.

This is a very well-balanced non-conference slate for Pope in year two, but fans would love to play in one of these events in some sort of tropical paradise. No fan base travels like Big Blue Nation, and fans would love an excuse to take a vacation and watch their favorite basketball team play.