It's getting to be that time where a lot of the major schools have secured their schedules for next season.
Earlier this week, we showed you who Texas is playing.
Now we get to Kentucky, which very well could have the toughest slate of opponents of any team in college hoops next season. The Wildcats have officially released their non-conference list of foes; exact tips for the games will be unveiled at a later time, but we know the dates and locations for all 16 games.
Of note: Champions Classic against reigning champions Duke; a return game at UCLA; vs. Ohio State in the Barclays Center as part of the CBS Sports Classic; and a road game in late January against Kansas.
Kentucky never shies away from a tough schedule. Seeing two true road games is about the best you can ask of any top-20 program these days. So at least Kentucky's big ones on the road are against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams. Heck, Kansas could well be a top-five team in the nation.
The annual Louisville game will take place in Rupp Arena next season.
Via the school's website, here's who takes on Big Blue next season:
| Opponent | 2014-15 record | Date | Final RPI | KenPom.com final ranking | Series history | Last meeting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Albany | 24-9 | Nov. 13 | 104 | 128 | First meeting | Never met | |
| vs. NJIT | 21-12 | Nov. 14 | 134 | 166 | Never met | First meeting | |
| vs. Duke | 35-4 | Nov. 17 | 1 | 4 | UK leads 11-9 | UK lost 75-68 on Nov. 13, 2012 | |
| vs. Wright State | 11-20 | Nov. 20 | 266 | 250 | UK leads 3-0 | UK won 97-75 on Nov. 23, 1998 | |
| vs. Boston U. | 13-17 | Nov. 24 | 200 | 242 | UK leads 4-0 | UK won 89-65 on Nov. 21, 2014 | |
| @ South Florida | 9-23 | Nov. 27 | 277 | 295 | First meeting | Never met | |
| vs. Illinois State | 22-13 | Nov. 30 | 53 | 52 | First meeting | Never met | |
| @ UCLA | 22-14 | Dec. 3 | 39 | 33 | UK leads 7-4 | UK won 83-44 on Dec. 20, 2014 | |
| vs. Eastern Kentucky | 21-12 | Dec. 9 | 142 | 116 | UK leads 11-0 | UK won 82-49 on Dec. 7, 2014 | |
| vs. Arizona State | 18-16 | Dec. 12 | 90 | 63 | UK leads 3-0 | UK won 82-65 on Nov. 25, 2002 | |
| vs. Ohio State | 24-11 | Dec. 19 | 38 | 21 | UK leads11-8 | UK won 62-60 on March 25, 2011 | |
| vs. Louisville | 27-9 | Dec. 26 | 19 | 16 | UK leads 33-15 | UK won 58-50 on Dec. 27, 2014 | |
| @ Kansas | 27-9 | Jan. 30 | 5 | 14 | UK leads 22-6 |
UK won 72-40 on Nov. 18, 2014 |
"To understate it, this will obviously be a challenging schedule for a young team like ours, which lost more than 85 percent of its scoring and nearly 80 percent of its rebounding," coach John Calipari said in a statement. "We're excited for the challenge."
No shot Kentucky's able to run the table next year, not after losing all it did and having a schedule like this. But the challenge will be great to see. There's a lot here, and Kentucky "rebuilds" are always intriguing.
This, by the way, marks the third major piece of news with the school this week. First, Calipari publicly removed himself from connection to any NBA jobs. Then Calipari made bigger headlines when he said getting players drafted is/was more important than winning a title. Now the schedule. Been a busy week in Big Blue Nation.
