Kentucky basketball adds marquee CBS Sports Classic opponent to its 2023-24 schedule
Another key piece of the 2023-24 Kentucky men’s basketball schedule has been confirmed.
The Wildcats will play North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 16 in Atlanta, event organizers announced Tuesday. The latest game in the series will be played at the State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, and this will be the first time the CBS Sports Classic will be played in the city. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. on CBS.
This will be the fourth meeting in the past six seasons between the Wildcats and the Tar Heels in the CBS Sports Classic, with the regular rotation for the event derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. UK defeated UNC 98-69 in the last meeting (on Dec. 18, 2021), though the Tar Heels ultimately advanced to the NCAA title game that season.
Kentucky has a 3-1 record against Carolina in CBS Sports Classic games. UNC leads the all-time series between the two programs, 25-17.
The Tar Heels started the 2022-23 season as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings, but they finished with a 20-13 record and 11-9 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, missing the NCAA Tournament.
Preseason expectations will be high once again in Chapel Hill this season, thanks to the return of Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis, the additions of high-impact transfers Harrison Ingram (Stanford) and Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame), and the arrival of five-star point guard recruit Elliot Cadeau.
ESPN has UNC at No. 15 in its 2023-24 preseason rankings, while CBS Sports ranks the Heels as the No. 22 team in the country. Kentucky is No. 17 and No. 16, respectively, on those preseason lists.
Ohio State will play UCLA in the other CBS Sports Classic game Dec. 16.
Last season, UCLA defeated Kentucky 63-53 in the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden.
The rotation for the future of the series is already set. Scheduling documents obtained by the Herald-Leader earlier this year show that Kentucky will play Ohio State on Dec. 21, 2024, UCLA on Dec. 20, 2025 and North Carolina on Dec. 19, 2026.
Sites for those games will be announced at a later date.
Kentucky has already confirmed 2023-24 games with Kansas (Nov. 14 in Chicago) and Miami (Nov. 28 in Rupp Arena). The Wildcats will also play non-conference games against Gonzaga (in Rupp) and Louisville (in Yum Center), though dates for those matchups have not been announced.
UK’s 18-game league schedule looks particularly tough this season, with two games each against Arkansas and Tennessee — two teams that are universally ranked — as well as a home-and-home series with Mississippi State, another Southeastern Conference team that has been included in some preseason rankings.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M are also included in ESPN’s preseason Bracketology, and Kentucky will play two games against the Gators and one each against the other league foes.
The Wildcats’ complete 2023-24 schedule will be finalized later this year.
