Kentucky's first exhibition gave Big Blue Nation a chance to see the new-look Wildcats in action. Friday night's second test should tell us considerably more.
The No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats welcome the No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders to Rupp Arena for what looks much more like a November résumé game than a preseason exhibition. The result won't count in the standings, but with two nationally ranked teams on the floor, this will be an excellent early measuring stick for Mark Pope's third Kentucky team.
Kentucky enters after defeating Little Rock 69-49 in its exhibition opener. There were plenty of encouraging signs — especially shooting and defense — but there were also enough rough edges to give Pope and his staff plenty to work on.
Texas Tech is a major step up in competition. The Red Raiders are coming off another NCAA Tournament season and have assembled a roster loaded with veteran scoring, shooting and experience.
The preseason Associated Press poll has Texas Tech at No. 19 and Kentucky at No. 23. Texas Tech is even higher in the coaches poll at No. 16, while Kentucky is again No. 23.
That makes Friday one of the more interesting exhibition games anywhere in college basketball.
Texas Tech went 23-11 last season, made its third consecutive NCAA Tournament under head coach Grant McCasland and finished the year ranked No. 21 in the AP poll. The Red Raiders also recorded four wins over Top-10 opponents during the season.
This isn't a tune-up opponent coming to Rupp. Texas Tech has the personnel to expose mistakes, punish bad possessions and force Kentucky's new roster to play with regular-season intensity.
Kentucky's 69-49 win over Little Rock wasn't always pretty, but there was a lot to like.
Kentucky struggled to find an offensive rhythm early, but the Wildcats shot 51.7% from the field in the second half and connected on eight second-half 3-pointers.
Milan Momcilovic immediately looked capable of becoming one of Kentucky's primary offensive weapons. The Iowa State transfer scored a game-high 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and knocked down 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Alex Wilkins added 11 points, while freshman Mason Williams impressed in his college debut with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, three assists and three steals.
Malachi Moreno made his presence felt without needing a huge scoring night. The 7-footer grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. Zoom Diallo led Kentucky with five assists.
The biggest concern was ball security. Kentucky committed 19 turnovers, something the Wildcats simply cannot afford to repeat against a Texas Tech team with experienced guards and considerably more offensive firepower.
If Kentucky fans are expecting Texas Tech to arrive in Lexington looking like a team simply trying to work out some preseason kinks, think again.
McCasland has assembled an extremely experienced perimeter group, including multiple players who were major scorers at other Division I programs last season.
That's an enormous amount of proven college production. Kentucky's young guards won't have the luxury of easing their way into this one.
All-American forward JT Toppin is not expected to play as he continues working his way back from the torn ACL that ended his 2025-26 season. Before the injury, Toppin was averaging a spectacular 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. His absence obviously changes Texas Tech's frontcourt, but the Red Raiders still have more than enough talent to give Kentucky a serious test.
Kentucky brought Momcilovic to Lexington after he became one of the best shooters in college basketball at Iowa State, and it didn't take long for Big Blue Nation to see why.
Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points per game last season while making a school-record 136 3-pointers and shooting 48.7% from beyond the arc. He followed that by knocking down four triples in his first exhibition as a Wildcat.
Against a Texas Tech roster with multiple dangerous shooters of its own, Kentucky may need Momcilovic to be much more than a floor spacer. He could become the player Pope runs the offense through during important stretches.
Friday night should offer our first real look at how Kentucky intends to create shots for him when the opposing defense knows exactly where he is.
Expect this one to feel different from a normal exhibition.
Texas Tech has too much experience, too many shooters and too much talent for Kentucky to simply overwhelm the Red Raiders. There should be stretches when the Wildcats are uncomfortable, and that's exactly why this game is valuable.
Mark Pope doesn't need his team to look like a finished product on October 23. He needs to learn how his players respond when a good team takes away their first option, pressures the basketball, knocks down consecutive 3-pointers or goes on a run.
The scoreboard will be interesting, but the bigger questions are how Kentucky handles adversity, how well the Wildcats take care of the basketball and whether the defense that looked so good against Little Rock holds up against a much more explosive opponent.
Kentucky passed its first preseason test. Now the difficulty level goes way up.
A matchup with No. 19 Texas Tech gives Mark Pope and the Wildcats exactly what they need at this point in October: a talented, experienced opponent capable of exposing weaknesses before those weaknesses start counting in the standings.
Can Kentucky take better care of the basketball? Can Momcilovic keep firing away? Can Moreno control the paint? Can the Wildcats defend one of the deepest collections of veteran shooters they'll see all season?
We'll start getting those answers Friday night.
And while the official record will still read 0-0 when it's over, this one should tell Big Blue Nation quite a bit about just how ready these Wildcats are for what lies ahead.