Mark Pope emphasized at Kentucky Preseason Media Day on Monday how great rivalries are for college basketball.
“I think our in-state rivals, or in-conference rivals, continue to get way better, and I love every second of it. It’s how it’s supposed to be. This game is great.”
Kentucky and Louisville will play on Tuesday, November 11th, while the Wildcats will play Tennessee and Florida twice in the regular season.
Those three rivalries are both listed in Andy Katz’s top rivalries for the upcoming season,
with Kentucky-Louisville at No. 2 and Kentucky-Florida and Kentucky-Tennessee at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
There are some great rivalries on this list, even as college basketball and college athletics as a whole have changed dramatically.
Kentucky and Florida played one of the games of the season in the SEC this past January, with Kentucky winning 106-100. The Wildcats also swept Tennessee in the regular season and beat Louisville last December.
The Wildcats and Volunteers will play on Saturday, January 17 (Knoxville) and Saturday, February 7 (Lexington) this season. Kentucky and Florida will play on Saturday, February 14 (Gainesville) and Saturday, March 7 (Lexington).
It’s likely that those three teams will have a large say in how the SEC plays out this season.
