LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball has by no means taken on Eastern Illinois.
That adjustments tonight, because the Wildcats welcome the Panthers to Rupp Arena.
UK, which is No. 8 within the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll and No. 9 within the AP Top 25, seeks to shake off a loss in its most up-to-date outing: a 96-88 road setback to in-state rival Louisville on Tuesday.
Kentucky and coach Mark Pope enter tonight’s matchup 2-1 this season after opening with victories over Nicholls and Valparaiso.
EIU is 1-2, falling to Valparaiso and Notre Dame however notching a win in opposition to Nicholls.
The Panthers are led by coach Marty Simmons, who has a 41-87 total document in his fourth season with this system. He has a 225-262 record as a Division I coach after going 184-175 in 11 seasons at his alma mater, Evansville. Simmons additionally had head-coaching stints at SIU Edwardsville (when it nonetheless was a Division II faculty) and Wartburg College (a Division III program in Waverly, Iowa).
Within the Ohio Valley Conference‘s preseason ballot, Eastern Illinois was picked to finish 10th within the 11-team league in 2025-26. Since transferring as much as Division I in 1981, the Panthers have reached the NCAA Tournament solely twice, with their most up-to-date look occurring in 2001.
This is what it’s worthwhile to know to observe at present’s sport between the Wildcats and Panthers from dwelling:
UK and Eastern Illinois are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. at present at Rupp Enviornment.
The sport between the Wildcats and Panthers won’t air on a conventional tv channel.
As a substitute, it is going to be streamed reside on SEC Network+, a complementary digital platform to the linear SEC Community run by ESPN.
Authenticated subscribers can entry SEC Community+ through TV-connected units or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Betting odds: Odds aren’t but accessible for this sport.
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) can have the UK radio community name on 840 AM in Louisville and each 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.
You too can pay attention on-line through UKAthletics.com.
Attain Kentucky males’s basketball and soccer reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and observe him on X at @RyanABlack.
Our workforce of savvy editors independently handpicks all suggestions. If you buy by our hyperlinks, the USA At the moment Community might earn a fee. Costs had been correct on the time of publication however might change.
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