Gonzaga announces late-night tipoff for matchup with Kentucky
Kentucky men’s basketball has known its opponents for the 2024-25 season for a while now, but the actual tipoff times and TV assignments have been slowly trickling. Coming into this week, the matchup with Gonzaga was the only game on the schedule without a start time.
That changed on Tuesday night though when Gonzaga released its complete schedule for the upcoming season. It revealed that the Bulldogs’ showdown against Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 7 will begin at 10:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2. The game takes place at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, so it’ll be a 7:00 p.m. tip-time on the West Coast. It marks the Wildcats’ latest start for a regular season game this season.
Gonzaga will start the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll while Kentucky checks in at No. 23.
This will be the third of six games in this series. Looking ahead, the 2025-26 matchup will take place in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. The 2026-27 matchup is scheduled to return to Rupp Arena with the 2027-28 venue set for the McCarthey Athletic Center on Gonzaga’s campus.
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For the majority of Mark Pope‘s new-look Kentucky roster, taking on Gonzaga will be a first. Only two of the 12 players on scholarship have gone head-to-head against Mark Few’s program.
San Diego State transfer guard Lamont Butler faced the Bulldogs once in Dec. 2023, finishing with four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal during just 11 minutes played in a win. Meanwhile, BYU transfer guard Jaxson Robinson faced Gonzaga twice during the 2022-23 season. Robinson recorded 17 points (5-9 FG), four assists, two rebounds, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes in Jan. 2023, and then 10 points (4-11 FG), one rebound, one assist, and one steal in 35 minutes a month later. BYU lost both matchups.
Plan accordingly for what will surely be a late night in December.
Kentucky Men’s Basketball 2024-25 Schedule
| Date | Time (EST) | Opponent/Event | Location | TV |
| Oct. 7 (Mon.) | 6:00 PM | Pro Day | Historic Memorial Coliseum | SEC Network+ |
| Oct. 11 (Fri.) | 7:00 PM | Big Blue Madness | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network |
| Oct. 18 (Fri.) | 6:00 PM | Blue-White Preseason Event | Historic Memorial Coliseum | N/A |
| Oct. 23 (Wed.) | 7:00 PM | Kentucky Wesleyan (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Oct. 29 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | Minnesota State Mankato (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Nov. 4 (Mon.) | 7:00 PM | Wright State | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPNU |
| Nov. 9 (Sat.) | 4:00 PM | Bucknell | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Nov. 12 (Tue.) | 9:00 PM | vs. Duke (Champions Classic) | Atlanta | State Farm Arena | ESPN |
| Nov. 19 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | Lipscomb (BBN Invitational) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Nov. 22 (Fri.) | 7:00 PM | Jackson State (BBN Invitational | Unity Series) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Nov. 26 (Tue.) | 6:30 PM | Western Kentucky (BBN Invitational) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPNU |
| Nov. 29 (Fri.) | 7:00 PM | Georgia State | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network |
| Dec. 3 (Tue.) | 9:30 PM | at Clemson (SEC/ACC Challenge) | Clemson, S.C. | Littlejohn Coliseum | ESPN |
| Dec. 7 (Sat.) | 10:00 PM | vs. Gonzaga (Battle in Seattle) | Seattle | Climate Pledge Arena | ESPN2 |
| Dec. 11 ( Wed.) | 8:00 PM | Colgate | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN2 |
| Dec. 14 (Sat.) | 5:15 PM | Louisville | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN |
| Dec. 21 (Sat.) | 5:30 PM | vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic) | New York | Madison Square Garden | CBS |
| Dec. 31 (Tue.) | 2:00 PM | Brown | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Jan. 4 (Sat.) | 11:00 AM | Florida | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPNU |
| Jan. 7 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | at Georgia | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum | SEC Network |
| Jan. 11 (Sat.) | 8:30 PM | at Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss.| Humphrey Coliseum | SEC Network |
| Jan. 14 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | Texas A&M | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN2/U |
| Jan. 18 (Sat.) | 12:00 PM | Alabama | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN |
| Jan. 25 (Sat.) | 2:30 PM | at Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | Memorial Gymnasium | ESPN/2 |
| Jan. 28 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | at Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | Thompson-Boling Arena | ESPN |
| Feb. 1 (Sat.) | 9:00 PM | Arkansas | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN |
| Feb. 4 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | at Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. | Pavilion at Ole Miss | ESPN |
| Feb. 8 (Sat.) | 12:00 PM | South Carolina | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/2 |
| Feb. 11 (Tue.) | 7:00 PM | Tennessee | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network+ |
| Feb. 15 (Sat.) | 8:00 PM | at Texas | Austin, Texas | Moody Center | ESPN |
| Feb. 19 (Wed.) | 7:00 PM | Vanderbilt | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network |
| Feb. 22 (Sat.) | 6:00 PM | at Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Coleman Coliseum | ESPN |
| Feb. 26 (Wed.) | 9:00 PM | at Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. | Lloyd Noble Center | SEC Network |
| March 1 (Sat.) | 1:00/4:00 PM | Auburn | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ABC/ESPN |
| March 4 (Tue.) | 7:00/9:00 PM | LSU | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/2/U |
| March 8 (Sat.) | 12:00 PM | at Missouri | Columbia, Mo. | Mizzou Arena | ESPN/SEC Network |
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