Kentucky MBB will reportedly play Penn in Philadelphia this December

The Wildcats are headed to the northeast.

According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Kentucky men’s basketball will travel to Philadelphia, PA to take on the Ivy League’s Penn Quakers on Saturday, Dec. 9th at the Wells Fargo Center. It will be a “homecoming” game for a handful of current Kentucky freshmen, as Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw all hail from the area. In particular, Edwards played for Philly’s Imhotep Charter in high school before coming to UK. Head coach John Calipari also holds plenty of connections to the area.

This matchup will be part of a larger event that includes a matchup between UCLA and Villanova (Lance Ware‘s new team), which is also set for the same day at the same venue, according to Rothstein.

Throughout the recorded history of college basketball, Kentucky and Penn have met five times (1967, 1968, 1990, 1998, and 2011) — the Wildcats winning them all. The most recent matchup was in Jan. 2011 when No. 10 Kentucky beat Penn by 24 points, 86-62. UK has been ranked among the top 15 in four of the five meetings and has beaten the Quakers by an average of 20.6 points.

NEWS: Kentucky will play Penn on December 9th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, according to a source. https://t.co/Kk1QCqfGFu

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 24, 2023

With another non-conference game added to the still-unannounced schedule, we already know the majority of Kentucky’s opponents for the upcoming 2023-24 season. In fact, we learned on Wednesday that the Wildcats will host Gonzaga at Rupp Arena during the middle of conference play (likely in January or February of 2024). Keep in mind that the series against Notre Dame and Michigan have been canceled for this season, as well.

Below is Kentucky’s non-conference slate as we know it.

• TBA: vs. Stonehill | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• TBA: vs. Texas A&M University-Commerce | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 6: vs. New Mexico State | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 14: vs. Kansas | Champions Classic | United Center, Chicago, IL
• Nov. 20: vs. St. Joe’s | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 24: vs. Marshall | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Nov. 28: vs. Miami | ACC/SEC Challenge | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Dec. 2: vs. UNC Wilmington | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• Dec. 9 @ Penn | Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Dec. 16: vs. North Carolina | CBS Sports Classic | State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Dec. 21 at Louisville | KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
• Dec. 29 vs. Illinois State | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
• TBA (2024): vs. Gonzaga | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

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