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Kentucky to host Illinois State in Antonio Reeves reunion matchup

Jack PIlgrimby:Jack Pilgrim•08/03/23
NCAA Basketball: Missouri Valley Conference Tournament- Northern Iowa Panthers vs Illinois State Redbirds
Mar 4, 2022; St. Louis, MO, USA; Illinois State Redbirds guard Antonio Reeves (12) drives to the basket against the Northern Iowa Panthers during the second half in the quarterfinals round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky basketball’s non-conference schedule is slowly starting to come together, the latest addition being a familiar face to at least one important member of the roster. A reunion is coming for Antonio Reeves, as the Illinois State Redbirds have announced the Wildcats as a matchup on December 29 inside of Rupp Arena.

The 6-foot-5 guard will get the opportunity to take on his former team — a school he actually took classes with this summer. Kentucky joins a non-conference schedule that also includes Lourdes University, Saint Louis, Eastern Illinois, Long Beach State, Northern Kentucky, Norfolk State, North Dakota State and SEMO — the Wildcats clearly standing out from the bunch.

Certainly one to mark down on the calendar.

Kentucky has played Illinois State one time — a 75-63 victory over the Redbirds back on November 30, 2015. The top-ranked Wildcats at the time were led by Isaiah Briscoe with 18 points, followed by Jamal Murray with 16 and Marcus Lee with 13.

Reeves scored 1,195 points during his three seasons with the Redbirds, highlighted by a 20.1-point-per-game effort as a junior in 2021-22. He closed out his career there shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three, 46.9 percent overall and 39.0 percent from deep his final season.

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Reeves transferred to Kentucky back in April of 2022. After testing the draft waters and weighing his transfer options this past offseason, he’s back in Lexington for one final season of eligibility.

And now he gets to face his former team.

Kentucky Basketball’s Non-Conference Schedule

What do you need to know about the rest of Kentucky’s 2023-24 non-conference schedule? We already heard about the Cats taking on Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 21 at the Yum Center. And then this morning, we got the announcement that Kentucky would open the season vs. New Mexico State at Rupp Arena on Monday, November 6.

St. Joe’s was also announced as a recent addition on Nov. 20, part of the “Wildcat Challenge,” a multi-team event also featuring Stonehill and Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Here are all of the games we know of so far:

  • 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
  • TBA: vs. Stonehill | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
  • TBA: vs. Texas A&M University-Commerce | 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. 16: vs. TBD | 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: vs. Gonzaga | Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

We’re almost there, BBN.

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2024-11-08