UK Basketball's 2021-22 Non-Conference Schedule As We Know It

UK Basketball added another game to its 2021-22 schedule with the official announcement of the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas. Kentucky will play Ohio State in the second of two CBS Sports Classic games in T-Mobile Arena, following the conclusion of UCLA-UNC at approximately at 5:15 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, December 18.

The CBS Sports Classic is the fifth game on UK’s published basketball schedule; however, we also know of five other reported matchups and the annual game with Louisville on the non-conference slate.

Let’s revisit the schedule as we know it:

	Big Blue Madness Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	Blue-White Game Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	Duke Champions Classic New York, NY | Madison Square Garden Tuesday, November 9
	Robert Morris* Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Friday, November 12
	Ohio* Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	Mount St. Mary’s* Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	Albany* Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	North Florida* Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	@ Michigan Ann Arbor, MI | Crisler Center Saturday, December 4
	Notre Dame Location To Be Announced Saturday, December 11
	Ohio State CBS Sports Classic Las Vegas, NV  Saturday, December 18 | 5:15 p.m. (ET)
	Louisville Lexington, KY | Rupp Arena Date To Be Announced
	@ Kansas Big 12/SEC Challenge Lawrence, KS | Allen Fieldhouse Saturday, January 29

(*Unconfirmed games)

Some things to know about the schedule:

— Big Blue Madness does not have a date yet, but Friday, October 15 is a good guess. Or maybe Friday, October 8, the opening day of Keeneland’s fall meet and the night before UK Football hosts LSU? That would make for a wild weekend.

— Kentucky will open the season against Duke in the first game of Coach K’s farewell tour. Hopefully it goes better than in 2018 when Duke beat second-ranked Kentucky in the Champions Classic, 118-84. It’s payback time for Duke and a loss for Kyryewseskiaski in his final game against the Cats.

— The Ohio, Robert Morris, and Mount St. Mary’s games are reportedly part of a multi-team event, known in the past as the BBN Showcase (2019), the Ohio Valley Showcase (2018) and the Adolph Rupp Classic (2017). Still unconfirmed by UK, CBS’s Jon Rothstein has the scoop. TJ Walker first reported the Robert Morris game with a November 12 date.

— Albany is another unconfirmed opponent on the schedule, again by—who else—Jon Rothstein back in June. Albany finished the 2020-21 season with a 7-9 record and a fifth-place medal in the American East Conference. The Great Danes will have a new head coach with former Marquette assistant Dwayne Killings in for Will Brown after Brown and the school split up after 20 seasons.

— Jon Rothstein also reported North Florida as a non-conference opponent on Kentucky’s schedule. The staff should do a better job of keeping Rothstein away from the schedule-making discussions, maybe sweep the schedule-making room for bugs. North Florida went 8-15 a year ago.

— On conference championship Saturday in college football, UK Basketball will travel to Ann Arbor to play Juwan Howard’s Michigan in the first game of the three-game London series. The Cats and Wolverines were supposed to play in London last season but COVID had other plans for our 2020 and the trip was postponed until 2022. In the new format, Michigan will host Kentucky this season, they’ll travel to London to play again next year, and Michigan will return the favor with a trip to Rupp Arena in 2023.

— Like the Michigan series, Kentucky has a three-game agreement with Notre Dame that began last season with Notre Dame beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena. This year’s meeting will be played at a neutral site still to be announced, and South Bend will play host on Saturday, December 10 in 2022.

— Due to last year’s last-minute switch of the 2020 CBS Sports Classic matchups, Ohio State is in for North Carolina as UK’s opponent in the 2021 CBS Sports Classic. Organizers simply moved the 2022 schedule up a year, so UNC-UCLA will open the double-header at 3 p.m. ET followed by UK-Ohio State in the second game. Las Vegas is the host site a week before Christmas Day.

— It’s Rupp Arena’s turn to host college basketball’s best rivalry. You know what’s at stake when Louisville comes to town.

— Kentucky drew Kansas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, meaning Big Blue Nation will meet the Phog in Lawrence. Kansas will likely be a top-five team in the preseason polls with plenty of experience back and the recent addition of transfer guard Remy Martin.

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