The Kentucky Wildcats have officially unveiled their non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2017-18 season.
And it’s safe to say that the young Wildcats will face their fair share of quality competition.
Here’s how Kentucky’s non-conference slate shakes out:
- 11/10 vs. Utah Valley State
- 11/12 vs. Vermont
- 11/14 vs. Kansas (Champions Classic in Chicago)
- 11/17 vs. ETSU
- 11/20 vs. Troy (Adolph Rupp Classic in Lexington)
- 11/22 vs. Fort Wayne (Adolph Rupp Classic in Lexington)
- 11/26 vs. UIC (Adolph Rupp Classic in Lexington)
- 12/2 vs. Harvard
- 12/9 vs. Monmouth (City Double Cash Classic in New York City)
- 12/16 vs. Virginia Tech
- 12/23 vs. UCLA (CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans)
- 12/29 vs. Louisville
- 1/27/18 at West Virginia (Big 12/SEC Challenge)
Lovell’s Analysis:
There are a couple of important notes on the Wildcats’ schedule here.
The first is that eight of these teams – Vermont, Kansas, ETSU, Troy, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Louisville, and West Virginia – made the NCAA Tournament last season. And there’s a good chance that at least six will go dancing again come March.
Another note is that the late January trip to Morgantown is the only true road game that the Wildcats will play in the non-conference. However, the schedule does include three neutral-court games.
John Calipari will have his youngest team yet in Lexington, so it will be interesting to see who the Wildcats draw in their first conference road game. A young team’s first true road game is always intriguing, but it probably won’t be a big deal considering the level of competition that they’ll already have played.
Getting Hamidou Diallo back was an unexpected surprise, and he’ll give Kentucky another offensive element that should have this team situated in or around the Top 10 for most of the season.
Like with all of Calipari’s one-and-done teams, building an on-court chemistry will be the biggest factor in the Wildcats’ chase for their ninth national championship.
And this non-conference schedule should present several challenges before the team enters a highly-competitive SEC slate.