Mark Pope won’t have to wait long for his first big nonconference test as Kentucky’s new basketball coach.
The Wildcats head to Atlanta for their third game of the season to face Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 12. ESPN recently named Kentucky vs. Duke as the top SEC vs. ACC game of 2024-25 regular season schedule.
Per ESPN:
“Cooper Flagg’s marquee debut in college basketball. Mark Pope’s first big game as the new coach of Kentucky. The other game of the Champions Classic will see Kansas take on Michigan State.”
While the game isn’t a part of the official SEC-ACC Challenge, Kentucky and Duke are two storied blue bloods that have met several times over the years — most famously in the 1992 NCAA Tournament at The Spectrum in Philadelphia (“The Shot”).
Duke has won five of the last six meetings against the ‘Cats, most recently in November 2021 at Madison Square Garden. Kentucky’s last win over Duke was in November 2015 in Chicago.
The Blue Devils are one of three ACC schools on the Wildcats’ 2024-25 nonconference schedule. Kentucky travels to Clemson on Dec. 3 as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. The Wildcats also host Louisville on Dec. 14 at Rupp Arena.
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