With the college basketball season quickly approaching, Mark Pope enters a pivotal third season as the head coach of Kentucky basketball.
After making the Sweet 16 two seasons ago, Pope’s Wildcats took a step back last year, earning just a No. 7 seed and losing in the second round of the tournament. Expectations are always high in Lexington, so Pope needs to get Kentucky back on track with an eye on the National Championship.
In the offseason, Pope was able to land Zoom Diallo and Milan Momcilovic in the transfer portal to anchor a team that looks much different than last year. Diallo comes from Washington and should be the starting point guard, while Momcilovic makes the move from Iowa State.
Kentucky’s final preseason game takes place on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats host UCF at home in Rupp Arena. Then, Kentucky will begin the season next week against Manhattan.
Here’s a look at the box score from Wednesday night’s exhibition.
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Kentucky vs. UCF box score
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Kentucky | |||
| UCF |
Kentucky
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | STL | BLK | BLK | FGM-FGA | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA |
| Zoom Diallo | |||||||||
| Alex Wilkins | |||||||||
| Ousmane Ndiaye | |||||||||
| Milan Momcilovic | |||||||||
| Malachi Moreno | |||||||||
UCF
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | STL | BLK | BLK | FGM-FGA | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA |
| Dior Johnson | |||||||||
| Arturo Dean | |||||||||
| Riley Kugel | |||||||||
| Isaiah Malone | |||||||||
| John Bol | |||||||||
MORE: Louisville freshman shines in exhibition win over Kansas
