UK basketball team will face plenty of tests this season. These will be the toughest.

A preseason look at the 10 toughest matchups on the University of Kentucky’s 2017-18 men’s basketball schedule:

10. Virginia Tech

When: Dec. 16 in Lexington

The Hokies return four players who played 29-plus minutes on last season’s NCAA Tournament team and combine that with a top-20 national recruiting class. Buzz Williams’ bunch should be back in the tourney again this season, and they’ll give the young Wildcats a tough test early in the season.

9. Missouri

When: Feb. 3 in Columbia; Feb. 24 in Lexington

National high school player of the year Michael Porter Jr. will get two shots at the Cats this season, the first of which will come on Mizzou’s home floor in front of what should be a raucous Tigers’ crowd. Cuonzo Martin brings in the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class and has three double-digit scorers back from last season’s team.

8. Alabama

When: Feb. 17 in Lexington

Collin Sexton and John Petty lead one of the best recruiting classes in America, and Braxton Key leads a returning group that includes the Tide’s three leading scorers from last season. The Cats have the home-court advantage, but Avery Johnson’s squad will be a tough beat this season, and Sexton will surely be pumped to face Kentucky.

7. Vanderbilt

When: Jan. 13 in Nashville; Jan. 30 in Lexington

The Cats get to ease into their slate of true road games with likely SEC bottom-feeders LSU and Tennessee, but the mid-January trip to Nashville will be a different story. Playing the Commodores on the road never seems to be easy (Calipari has never won by double digits there in seven visits as UK’s coach), and Vandy should be an NCAA Tournament-caliber team again this season.

6. Louisville

When: Dec. 29 in Lexington

This game would be on the tougher end of the spectrum had the Cards not lost Rick Pitino and star freshman Brian Bowen in the preseason. U of L will be plenty talented without Bowen, but there’s also much uncertainty surrounding the team and its young coach, David Padgett.

5. Texas A&M

When: Jan. 9 in Lexington; Feb. 10 in College Station

The Aggies return their top five players from last season — including likely NBA lottery pick Robert Williams — and bring in a host of talented newcomers led by redshirt freshman and former top-100 recruit JJ Caldwell at point guard. A&M is likely to be one of the SEC’s top three teams.

4. UCLA

When: Dec. 23 in New Orleans

The Cats have lost to the Bruins in each of the past two regular seasons, and UCLA should provide another major test this year. Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh return from last season’s team that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, and the Bruins add a stellar recruiting class that includes McDonald’s All-Americans Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes. This will be another early-season test for a young Wildcats squad.

3. Florida

When: Jan. 20 in Lexington; March 3 in Gainesville

The Gators are a top 10-caliber team with plenty of returning talent (led by junior guard KeVaughn Allen) and several new faces (including impact transfers Jalen Hudson and Egor Koulechov). Coach Mike White nearly got Florida back to the Final Four last season, and they’ll probably be UK’s biggest league competition. Luckily for the Cats, the trip to Gainesville doesn’t come until the first weekend in March.

2. West Virginia

When: Jan. 27 in Morgantown

Senior guard Jevon Carter is one of the best players in the country, and he’ll lead a veteran Mountaineers squad against a UK team consisting of mostly freshmen in front of what will undoubtedly be a rabid West Virginia crowd. Bob Huggins has a top-10 team this season, and Kentucky will have its hands full with this assignment.

1. Kansas

When: Nov. 14 in Chicago

The good news for UK is this one isn’t in Lawrence. This will still be the Cats’ first game away from Rupp Arena and their third game in five days to start the season. Kansas has a ton of returning talent (including Devonte’ Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk, Lagerald Vick and Udoka Azubuike), as well as several talented newcomers (don’t forget about Mississippi State transfer Malik Newman). For the young Cats, this looks like the toughest test of the regular season.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 9:29 PM with the headline "UK basketball team will face plenty of tests this season. These will be the toughest.."