Kentucky announces two more basketball opponents for 2020-21 schedule
Kentucky moved closer to completing its non-conference basketball schedule for 2020-21 on Tuesday with the announcement of home games against UAB and Marshall.
UK will play UAB on Dec. 6 and Marshall on Dec. 29.
The only remaining gaps in Kentucky’s non-conference schedule for 2020-21 are its opponent in the annual SEC-Big 12 Challenge and a date for the game at archrival Louisville.
Marshall Coach Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of Houston Rockets Coach Mike D’Antoni, welcomed the challenge of playing Kentucky. Marshall, which had a 17-15 record last season, has an all-time record of 0-12 against UK.
“This is an outstanding opportunity to play one of the top teams in the country,” the Marshall coach said in a statement announcing the game. “It’s a great trip for our fan base, and I’m looking forward to the game.”
How one-sided have Kentucky’s games against Marshall been? UK’s average margin of victory in the 12 games is 24.6 points. The closest games: 91-78 in the 1988 UKIT and 89-76 when the teams played in Cincinnati on Dec. 1, 2003.
UAB’s first-year coach is Andy Kennedy, who formerly coached at Ole Miss before working as an analyst for the SEC Network.
“We are excited to announce our game against Kentucky in legendary Rupp Arena next season,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I reached out to Coach Cal about the opportunity and he graciously agreed to the game which will be tremendously beneficial to our program on many fronts.
“Although we are certainly well aware of the daunting challenge of playing the Cats in Rupp Arena, our players and staff are grateful for the opportunity. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach Cal, Kentucky’s storied program and Big Blue Nation.’”
UAB, which had a 19-13 record last season, returns five players. Those include leading scorer Tavin Lovan (13.2 points per game), Conference USA All-Rookie Team member Jalen Benjamin (11.9 points) and Tyreek Scott-Grayson (10.0 points). Kentucky beat UAB 69-58 last season in Rupp Arena to even the all-time series 3-3.
Kentucky’s announcement of games against two Conference USA schools apparently caught the attention of another C-USA team: Western Kentucky.
After the announcement, Western Kentucky’s official basketball Twitter account posted, “If you’re making the C-USA tour, give us a call back sometime! We’re ready and right down the road.”
A follow-up Twitter post from WKU said, “Oh, and our previous offer for these dates still stands. Play us and we’ll give the full guarantee check to charity to help within our state.”
Western Kentucky athletics spokesman Zach Greenwell said the postings were meant to be “tongue-in-cheek and playful.” He said the postings were meant to send a message to WKU fans who would notice that Kentucky was scheduling two other C-USA teams.
Kentucky leads its all-time series against Western Kentucky 4-2. The teams have not met in the regular season since the Hilltoppers beat the Wildcats 64-52 in Rupp Arena in the 2001-02 season opener. The teams’ most recent meeting took place in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, an 81-66 opening-round Kentucky victory in Louisville that launched the Wildcats’ march to their eighth national championship.
“We really wanted to express to them that we really are trying,” Greenwell said of WKU fans. “That we’re trying to make things happen within any arrangement that works for both sides.”
Western Kentucky contacted UK in late April or early May to ask about scheduling a game, Greenwell said. Western Kentucky suggested “a kind of Team Kentucky Day,” he said, in which WKU would donate its guarantee from the game to charities in the state.
The schools also talked about a charity exhibition game, Greenwell said.
The schools talked specifically about the dates that subsequently saw Kentucky announce games against UAB and Marshall, Greenwell said.
“They couldn’t have been more gracious” about scheduling a game, the WKU spokesman said. “There’s no ill will there about them not feeling like it was the right fit. We really wanted our fans to know we’re trying to be creative, and we’re trying to find some way to make things happen.”
As for future seasons, Greenwell said, “We would be open to any arrangement any time in any season.”
Kentucky spokesman Eric Lindsey said much the same when asked about Western Kentucky’s Twitter comments.
“We can confirm that we have been in conversations with Western Kentucky about a game. Our non-conference schedule is complete for this upcoming season. But we will continue to discuss scheduling opportunities with WKU for future seasons.”
Kentucky finished the 2019-20 season with a record of 25-6. UK won the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and was ranked No. 8 in the final media poll conducted by The Associated Press.
Previously, Kentucky has announced non-conference games against Kansas (Nov. 10), Detroit Mercy (Nov. 13), Hartford (Nov. 17), Georgia State (Nov. 20), Richmond (Nov. 23), Georgia Tech (Nov. 27), Cleveland State (Nov. 30), Notre Dame (Dec. 12) and UCLA (Dec. 19).
The 12 announced non-conference opponents combined for a 224-155 record last season, a .591 winning percentage.
2020-21 UK schedule
Here are the contests Kentucky has locked in so far for the upcoming season (Home games in all capital letters, except for UCLA):
Nov. 10: Kansas-1
Nov. 13: DETROIT MERCY-2
Nov. 17: HARTFORD-2
Nov. 20: GEORGIA STATE
Nov. 23: RICHMOND-2
Nov. 27: Georgia Tech-3
Nov. 30: CLEVELAND STATE
Dec. 6: UAB
Dec. 12: NOTRE DAME
Dec. 19: UCLA-4
Dec. 29: MARSHALL
1-Champions Classic at United Center in Chicago; 2-Bluegrass Showcase; 3-Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta; 4-CBS Sports Classic at location TBA.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 1:22 PM.
