Mar 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

ESPN's most important non-conference matchup for Kentucky might surprise fans

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Aug 6, 2025 5:15 PM ET

This season, under Mark Pope, the Kentucky Wildcats are going to play a very tough non-conference schedule that will include a handful of top 25 teams. This is good for the Wildcats as iron sharpens iron, and it will have the team ready for the gauntlet of SEC play.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello put out an article where he ranked the top 25 teams heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season and projected which non-conference game will be the best for these teams.

In these rankings, he had Pope's Wildcats ranked as the ninth-best team in college basketball. What came as a surprise was the team Borzello listed as the most important non-con game for the Wildcats.

Borzello listed the North Carolina game as the most important for the Wildcats, which is a big surprise, as there are many better games on the slate for Pope's team.

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Here is what Borzello said about why he believes the North Carolina game is the best non-conference game for Kentucky: "This isn't the toughest game on the Wildcats' schedule, but it provides some extra time for Jayden Quaintance to recover from tearing his right ACL in February. Until the Arizona State transfer and projected lottery pick is fully healthy, we won't see Kentucky hit its true ceiling. So, a blue-blood battle with North Carolina a month into the season is the perfect chance to gauge the Wildcats."

The game that would make the most sense would be Kentucky's matchup with St John's in Atlanta, but that is not the game Borzello went with. What Borzello had to say about Quaintance makes sense, but even if he is still banged up, this game vs. Rick Pitino looks like the best.

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

In the same article, three teams inside the top 25 had Kentucky listed as the team that was their best non-conference game. Those three schools were St John's, Louisville, and Gonzaga.

This article from Borzello goes to show just how good the non-conference slate is for the Wildcats and how tough it will be to get out of it without a loss or two.

Kentucky is going to be one of the most tested teams in college basketball once Selection Sunday rolls around, which will be good for seeding. If Kentucky could get out of non-conference play with two or fewer losses, they would be in a great spot with SEC play approaching. This is going to be a very fun season of Kentucky basketball.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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