Kentucky, Louisville To Face Tough Exhibition Opponents In Basketball This October

College basketball season is upon us and it is an exciting time to be a Cat or a Card!

Coaches Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey will both be entering their third season as head coach at the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville, respectively. Coach Pope comes into this season 46-26 with back to back NCAA Tournament appearances including a Sweet 16 appearance in Pope's first season at Kentucky.

Kelsey is 51-19 at Louisville entering the 2026-27 season, having brought a resurgence to the program following nearly a decade of sanctions and scandals.

Both teams will be tested early with strong exhibition opponents. Kentucky will face Texas Tech in their second exhibition game on October 23rd. The Raiders finished last season tied for 3rd place in the Big 12 conference and at number 21 in the final AP Top 25. They fell to Alabama in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Louisville will travel to Kansas to take on Bill Self and the Jayhawks in their first exhibition game on October 21st. Louisville and Kansas faced off in an exhibition game last season as well at the KFC Yum! Center, where the Cardinals fell to the Jayhawks with a score of 82-90.

Other non-conference highlights for the two teams include an opportunity for Louisville to face its former head coach Rick Pitino and the St. John's Red Storm in the Players Era Tournament in late November, as well as the resurrection of a longstanding border state rivalry with the Indiana Hoosiers on November 20th.

The in-state rivalry game between the Cats and Cards is back to a Saturday in December this season. The two teams will face off Saturday, December 12th at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

The AP's "Way Too Early Top 25" rankings have Louisville at number 15 and Kentucky at 22.