Kentucky men’s basketball added another preseason exhibition to its 2026-27 slate on Friday, as Matt Jones of KSR confirmed that the ‘Cats will be welcoming head coach Grant McCasland and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 to Lexington.

There is no official date as of now, but it has also been reported that the game will take place at Rupp Arena, and there is still reportedly one more unknown Big 12 opponent that will make its way to town for an exhibition game.

The Wildcats and Red Raiders have met five times throughout the years, with the first meeting coming back in 1963, but the two have never dualed in an exhibition contest.

Kentucky holds a 5-0 record against Texas Tech, with the most recent meeting coming in 2020 when the No. 15-ranked Wildcats bested the No. 18-ranked Red Raiders in a 76-74 overtime thriller as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The Red Raiders have earned an NCAA Tournament bid the last three years and even made an appearance in the 2019 national championship game as a No. 3 seed, the program’s first ever, before falling to Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers 85-77.

Last season, Texas Tech concluded the season with a 23-11 overall record and a 12-6 record in Big12 play. Guided by Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, McCasland’s squad earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Round of 32, where it eventually lost to head coach Nate Oats and No. 4-seeded Alabama.

This exhibition game was a phenomenal schedule by head coach Mark Pope as Texas Tech has seen many wins over the past few years; they should expectably give the Cats a good challenge when errors won’t be costly and can be used as a learning experience without harm to the team’s overall record and postseason resume.

On top of that, the Red Raiders are returning Toppin, the former 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year, a star-studded guard who averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game last season. This implies that UK’s guards will have a mighty challenge, which should turn out to be a phenomenal opportunity for growth ahead of the regular season.

UK’s only other confirmed exhibition contest as of now is set for Oct. 16 against Arkansas Little Rock, but as mentioned, there is reportedly another exhibition game against a different Big 12 team on the horizon.

A confirmed date and viewing logistics for Kentucky’s preseason scrap with the Red Raiders are unknown at this time.

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