The 2023–24 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky during the

2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season will begin on November 6, 2023. The regular season will end on March 17, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 19 and ending ...

. The Wildcats, who are founding members of the Southeastern Conference, played their home games at Rupp Arena and were led by

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

in his 15th and final season as head coach for the Wildcats.

Previous season

The

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

finished the 2022–23 season finished the season with a record of 21–10, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in third place in the SEC. As the number three seed in the SEC tournament, they would be upset in the quarterfinal round by Vanderbilt. They would go on to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they would go on to defeat

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

in the first round before falling to Kansas State in the second round to finish the season with an overall record of 22–12.

Offseason

Departures

Class of 2023 commitments

On November 20, 2021, Reed Sheppard verbally committed to UK over multiple offers, with Louisville and Virginia among the most active in attempting to recruit him. The son of former UK basketball players

Jeff Sheppard Jeffrey Kyle Sheppard (born September 29, 1974) is a retired American professional and collegiate basketball player. Born in Marietta, Georgia, Sheppard was Player of the Year in Georgia in 1993 at McIntosh High School in Peachtree City. The ...

and the former Stacey Reed, he was the first commitment to the 2023 recruiting class. At the time of his commitment, he was the #3 ranked combo guard in the 2023 class by 247 Sports. On November 14, 2022, D. J. Wagner, ranked as the top point guard in the class by ESPN and Rivals, committed to the University Of Kentucky, deciding over Louisville.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style="", SEC tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament Sources:

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky basketball, men, 2023–24 Kentucky basketball, men, 2023–24