By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Kentucky’s non-conference men’s basketball schedule is set for next season.
The Wildcats will take on seven teams for the first time next year, including the season opener against Utah Valley State on Nov. 10, followed by Vermont two days later on Nov. 12. Utah Valley State is coached by former Kentucky standout Mark Pope, who played on the 1996 NCAA national championship team.
Kentucky also will take on East Tennessee State, Troy, Fort Wayne and UIC in the Adoph Rupp Classic, followed by Harvard during a string of five straight home games in a two-week span. Troy, Fort Wayne, UIC, Harvard and Monmouth are first-time opponents for the Wildcats.
The schedule also features Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago and UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans. The December slate features games against Virginia Tech and Louisville at home, followed by a road encounter at West Virginia in Morgantown in the Big 12-SEC Challenge in January.
In addition to the non-conference schedule, Kentucky will play nine home games in the Southeastern Conference, hosting league foes Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Mississippi State at Rupp Arena next season. Road games are at Florida, Tennessee Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Missouri, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said the non-conference schedule will help prepare the Wildcats for the postseason. Calipari will replace 92.6 percent of the scoring vacated from last year’s squad that reached the Elite Eight.
“We are going to have what could be the youngest team in the history of college basketball,” Calipari said. “We had to take that into account when building this year’s schedule. How do we prepare our guys to be at our best at the end of the season – which we’ve done nearly every year – while also putting them in a position to grow and succeed? I think we’ve done that with this schedule. When you look at who we will play, you’re talking about experienced teams that were in the postseason a year ago and bring back the core of their teams. This schedule is going to be a challenge for us, but my hope is it sets us up for a run at the end of the season.”
The Wildcats will open with Big Blue Madness on Oct. 13, followed by the Blue-White game on Oct. 20 at Rupp Arena. The team also will play a pair of exhibition games against two teams which will be announced at a later date.
Non-conference schedule
Nov. 10, Utah Valley State
Nov. 12, Vermont
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas at Chicago
Nov. 17 East Tennessee State
Nov. 20 Troy
Nov. 22 Fort Wayne
Nov. 20, UIC
Dec. 2, Harvard
Dec. 9, Monmouth at New York
Dec. 16, Virginia Tech
Dec. 23, vs. UCLA at New Orleans
Dec. 29, Louisville
Jan. 27, at West Virginia
Schedule notes
* Combined record in 2016-17: 314-134 (.701)
* Teams in postseason: 12 of 13
* Teams in NCAA Tournament: 8 of 13
* Teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 or better: 3 of 13
* Average RPI ranking in 2016-17: 87.4
* Teams that finished the seasons in the polls: 4 of 13 (6 of 13 including receiving votes)
* First-time opponents: 7 of 13
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter