Forecasting who Kentucky WBB may play in the 2025-26 SEC/ACC Challenge

Non-conference play can be rather uneventful as far as marquee matchups go. Other than the Louisville game and a game or two here and there, you’re basically just hoping Kentucky gets to SEC play unscathed.

However, when the SEC/ACC Challenge was introduced in the 2023-24 season, non-conference play got much more interesting. Two of the best conferences in college basketball playing head-to-head for bragging rights and ultimate supremacy.

Kentucky is 1-1 in the event, with Eniya Russell hitting the game-winning layup against Boston College the first year, then going on the road and laying the first true egg of the Kenny Brooks era in a 19-point defeat. Despite that loss, the Cats would go on to win their next nine games, setting up a 23-8 campaign that saw them finish fourth in the SEC and host in the NCAA Tournament.

Brooks has taken Kentucky a much better place than he originally found it in, and that could mean well for the SEC/ACC Challenge.

We’re going to try to forecast exactly who it is that Kentucky will be playing with the matchups are revealed in a month or so. The first year, they were released on June 28th, then June 12th this past year. So, based on that, it’ll be roughly a month or so until the matchups are officially known.

Anyway, time to unofficially predict Kentucky’s matchup.

It’s not always home, away, home, away… etc.

Kentucky was at home (well, Transy actually) for the SEC/ACC Challenge for the 2023-24 season and played in Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels in December. In an ideal world, that’s the norm — to alternate being at home and being on the road year-to-year. Of course, with the complications of scheduling, that isn’t always possible.

For example, NC State, Georgia Tech and Virginia have played at home both years. Duke, Boston College and Virginia Tech have played away both years.

It’s important to note that the second group of teams listed will almost certainly have a home game this time around, and if Kentucky is going to be at home — like they ideally would be — they probably won’t face any of those three teams.

Of course, after playing Boston College in the first year, they were a big long shot anyway. Duke will most likely be matched up against Texas or LSU. The Hokies… well… we’ll get to them momentarily.

Here’s a list of where each ACC team played last season in the SEC/ACC Challenge in order to get a better feel of who the Cats could possibly play:

Pitt and Wake Forest did not participate in the 2024-25 SEC/ACC Challenge.

Who it will not be

Louisville, North Carolina, Boston College

We already noted why it won’t be Boston College, and that same reasoning applies to North Carolina. Could Kentucky see them down the road eventually? Sure, but it won’t be in back-to-back years. With Louisville, Kentucky will already be scheduled to take them on in the Yum! Center.

Simple. Moving on.

It’s not like there’s no chance in the world that Kentucky takes on one of these teams, but this group is the cream of the crop in the ACC. ESPN is going to want the best matchups possible, so the best teams are going to play the best teams. TV ratings play a massive role in this process — keep that in mind for in a minute.

Expect those teams to take on South Carolina, LSU, Texas or even Oklahoma or Ole Miss.

The expectation is that Kentucky won’t face the best of the best in the ACC necessarily, and at the same time, it would be really surprising to see them matched up against an ACC bottom feeder.

While these teams are certainly a step up from being bottom feeders, they aren’t quite like Kentucky. It’s not impossible that one of these four teams could be the official opponent, but if Vegas had odds on it, they’d probably be big underdogs.

The Virginia Tech dilemma

Remember when I said we’d get to addressing Virginia Tech? And how TV ratings play a huge role in this process? Well… I bet you know why this one would be good for TV.

Oh, and the Hokies have been on the road the first two years of the SEC/ACC Challenge. And remember how we noted it’s always not home/away/home/away? Kentucky could very well be sent to Blacksburg this season.

I doubt it’ll happen, but it’s certainly in the realm of possibility (and admittedly, it would be awesome but also terrifying to see what Cassell Coliseum would look like that night).

The Seminoles played at home in the first year of the SEC/ACC Challenge and went on the road last year in the event. They also finished fourth in the ACC, making them an equal to Kentucky. They’re certainly a team to watch out for. However, them playing on the road this past year makes them slightly less likely of a matchup than the last two teams to be discussed.

Take your pick at which one, but Cal and Georgia Tech — based on all the criteria we’ve hit on — are the most likely teams that Kentucky will face this season in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Yellowjackets are particularly intriguing because Tonie Morgan was their point guard not too long ago.

However, one team looks to be on the up, while the other team may be trending downward this year…

As a result, we’re predicting that the Kentucky Wildcats and the Cal Golden Bears will square off this winter in Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Both teams are emerging as contenders in the respective leagues, and this could very possibly be a Top 25 matchup on an ESPN network. Cal went 25-9 last year, finishing 7th in the ACC and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Mississippi State.

It would definitely be an interesting game for Kentucky, and if Cal can build off what they did last season, that would be a really solid resume win for the Cats early in the year.