Kentucky men's basketball releases SEC schedule for 2025-26

Kentucky Men’s Basketball Reveals 2025–26 SEC Schedule

The Kentucky Wildcats are gearing up for another high-stakes season in the Southeastern Conference, with their conference schedule officially released. Under head coach Mark Pope, Kentucky will kick off its SEC campaign on the road and wrap up the regular season at home in what promises to be a dramatic finish.

Kentucky opens SEC play on January 3, 2026, with a challenging road matchup against Alabama—a game that will also mark forward Mouhamed “Mo” Dioubate’s return to Tuscaloosa. The regular season will conclude at Rupp Arena on March 7 with a showdown against Florida, the defending national champions and the former squad of current Wildcat Denzel Aberdeen.

Kentucky’s first SEC home game comes shortly after the opener, with Missouri visiting Lexington on either January 6 or 7.

The Wildcats will face three conference rivals in home-and-away series: Tennessee (away on Jan. 17, home on Feb. 7), Vanderbilt (in Nashville Jan. 27/28, in Lexington Feb. 28), and Florida (away on Feb. 14, home finale on March 7).

A major storyline this season is Kentucky’s trip to Fayetteville on January 31, where they will square off against former head coach John Calipari and his new team, Arkansas.

The complete SEC schedule is as follows:

Jan. 3: at Alabama
Jan. 6/7: vs. Missouri
Jan. 10: vs. Mississippi State
Jan. 13/14: at LSU
Jan. 17: at Tennessee
Jan. 20/21: vs. Texas
Jan. 24: vs. Ole Miss
Jan. 27/28: at Vanderbilt
Jan. 31: at Arkansas
Feb. 3: vs. Oklahoma
Feb. 7: vs. Tennessee
Feb. 14: at Florida
Feb. 17/18: vs. Georgia
Feb. 21: at Auburn
Feb. 24/25: at South Carolina
Feb. 28: vs. Vanderbilt
Mar. 3/4: at Texas A&M
Mar. 7: vs. Florida

Specific game times and TV details will be announced in the coming months.

Non-Conference Preview

Outside of SEC play, Kentucky has also unveiled much of its non-conference slate, with three more games expected to be added. A marquee matchup against Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center will come earlier than usual this season.

Other standout games include a Champions Classic showdown with Michigan State at Madison Square Garden, home contests against traditional powerhouses Indiana and North Carolina, and a continuation of the Gonzaga series in Nashville. The Wildcats will also face Rick Pitino’s squad in the CBS Sports Classic.

Before the official tipoff of the season, Kentucky will host two high-profile exhibition games: Purdue on Friday, October 24, and Georgetown on Friday, October 30. Thanks to recent NCAA rule changes, Division I teams can now schedule these types of preseason matchups, though they won’t impact win-loss records or statistics.

With both conference and non-conference opponents set, the Wildcats are primed for a thrilling and competitive 2025–26 campaign.