No. 9 Kentucky (24-12, 10-8 SEC)

Mark Pope replaced John Calipari as Kentucky coach and took the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing five players. Pope turned to the transfer portal to restock his roster including bringing Jayden Quaintance to campus after he chose Arizona State with Calipari's departure for Arkansas. Pope has leading scorer and preseason All-SEC player of the year Otega Oweh back to help lead the way. Kentucky opens the season Nov. 4 against Nicholls at Rupp Arena.

Players to watch

Oweh led Kentucky by scoring 16.2 points a game and also had 57 steals. Guard Jaland Lowe arrived through the portal after leading Pittsburgh scoring 16.8 points a game last season. Quaintance, a former five-star recruit, is recovering from ACL surgery.

Departures

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