Big Blue Madness Date, Ticket Distribution Announced

It’s hard to believe, but in just under a month, the Kentucky Basketball season unofficially begins. UK just announced that Big Blue Madness will take place on Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m. at Rupp Arena. Per usual, the event will serve as the tip-off to the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. It will also be televised on SEC Network.

Due to the ongoing renovations at Memorial Coliseum, tickets will not be distributed in person — therefore, there will be no campout — but you can get your tickets for free on Ticketmaster starting at 8 p.m. ET on September 29. Madness takes place the night before the Missouri football game at Kroger Field and during Keeneland’s fall meet. It also coincides with Darius Rucker’s concert at the Horse Park. Talk about a big weekend in Lexington.

No word yet on the format for this year’s Madness. Last year’s event included a “La Familia Reunion,” with several of John Calipari’s former players making appearances, including Brandon Knight, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Ulis, Nick Richards, Kevin Knox, and Hamidou Diallo. Antonio Reeves won the three-point contest, while the crowd dubbed Jacob Toppin the winner of the dunk contest. Blair Green repeated as the winner of the women’s three-point contest and WBB head coach Kyra Elzy entered the arena on the back of a motorcycle.

What do you want to see from this year’s Big Blue Madness? We’ve got a thread of suggesting rolling on KSBoard, so come check it out.

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Kentucky Basketball’s 2023-24 Schedule

Last week, the SEC announced the dates for conference games, giving us our first look at the complete regular season schedule. Now, we can add in Madness. We’re still waiting on information regarding exhibition games, TV info, and tip times.

Date	Opponent/Event	Location
Oct. 13	Big Blue Madness	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 6	New Mexico State	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 10	Texas A&M-Commerce	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 14	vs. Kansas	United Center (Chicago)
Nov. 17	Stonehill	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 20	Saint Joseph’s	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 24	Marshall	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Nov. 28	Miami	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Dec. 2	UNC-Wilmington	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Dec. 9	vs. Penn	Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
Dec. 16	vs. North Carolina	State Farm Arena (Atlanta)
Dec. 21	at Louisville	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
Dec. 29	Illinois State	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Jan. 6	at Florida	Exactech Arena (Gainesville, Fla.)
Jan. 9	Missouri	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Jan. 13	at Texas A&M	Reed Arena (College Station-Bryan, Texas)
Jan. 17	Mississippi State	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Jan. 20	Georgia	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Jan. 23	at South Carolina	Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
Jan. 27	at Arkansas	Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Jan. 31	Florida	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Feb. 3	Tennessee	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Feb. 6	at Vanderbilt	Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, Tenn.)
Feb. 10	Gonzaga	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Feb. 13	Ole Miss	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Feb. 17	at Auburn	Auburn Arena (Auburn, Ala.)
Feb. 21	at LSU	Pete Maravich Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
Feb. 24	Alabama	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
Feb. 27	at Mississippi State	Humphrey Coliseum (Starkville, Miss.)
March 2	Arkansas	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
March 6	Vanderbilt	Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
March 9	at Tennessee	Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)

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