SEC road putting Kentucky to test. A look at every venue and what the Cats are facing.
The University of Kentucky will play the second of nine Southeastern Conference road games when it visits Mississippi State in Starkville on Saturday night.
In Kentucky’s SEC road opener Tuesday night, Georgia fans filled Stegeman Coliseum to its listed capacity of 10,523.
Former UK coach John Calipari liked to say Kentucky was “everybody’s Super Bowl” and, while that’s been true in many years, the conference’s recent improvement on the basketball court has led to increased attendance across the board.
SEC teams’ total home attendance of 2,826,719 in 2023-24 was the league’s second best ever and the average home attendance of 11,633 was the best since 2009-10.
Kentucky will probably confront a sellout crowd of more than 9,000 in Starkville on Saturday, and that will hardly be the last of the challenging road environments for the Wildcats this season.
UK’s remaining seven SEC road games are at Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Kentucky is 10-0 at home this season in 20,500-seat Rupp Arena, 0-2 on the road and 2-1 on neutral floors.
Here is how UK’s home arena compares with the rest of the league:
Alabama
Arena: Coleman Coliseum
Capacity: 14,474
Year opened: 1968
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 26-32
This year’s games vs. UK: Jan. 18 in Lexington; Feb. 22 in Tuscaloosa
Arkansas
Arena: Bud Walton Arena
Capacity: 19,200
Year opened: 1993
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 8-11
This year’s game vs. UK: Feb. 1 in Lexington
Auburn
Arena: Neville Arena
Capacity: 9,121
Year opened: 2010
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 18-32
This year’s game vs. UK: March 1 in Lexington
Florida
Arena: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Capacity: 10,151
Year opened: 1980
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 26-41
This year’s game vs. UK: Kentucky won 106-100 on Jan. 4 in Lexington
Georgia
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum
Capacity: 10,523
Year opened: 1964
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 20-44
This year’s game vs. UK: Georgia won 82-69 on Jan. 7 in Athens
LSU
Arena: Maravich Center
Capacity: 13,215
Year opened: 1971
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 20-32
This year’s game vs. UK: March 4 in Lexington
Mississippi
Arena: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss
Capacity: 9,500
Year opened: 2016
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 11-30
This year’s game vs. UK: Feb. 4 in Oxford
Mississippi State
Arena: Humphrey Coliseum
Capacity: 9,100
Year opened: 1975
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 12-39
This year’s game vs. UK: Jan. 11 in Starkville
Missouri
Arena: Mizzou Arena
Capacity: 15,061
Year opened: 2004
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 3-4
This year’s game vs. UK: March 8 in Columbia
Oklahoma
Arena: Lloyd Noble Center
Capacity: 10,967
Year opened: 1975
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 0-0
This year’s game vs. UK: Feb. 26 in Norman
South Carolina
Arena: Colonial Life Arena
Capacity: 18,000
Year opened: 2002
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 10-21
This year’s game vs. UK: Feb. 8 in Lexington
Tennessee
Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Capacity: 21,678
Year opened: 1987
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 53-59
This year’s games vs. UK: Jan. 28 in Knoxville; Feb. 11 in Lexington
Texas
Arena: Moody Center
Capacity: 15,000
Year opened: 2022
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 0-0
This year’s game vs. UK: Feb. 15 in Austin
Texas A&M
Arena: Reed Arena
Capacity: 12,989
Year opened: 1998
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 3-5
This year’s game vs. UK: Jan. 14 in Lexington
Vanderbilt
Arena: Historic Memorial Gymnasium
Capacity: 14,316
Year opened: 1952
All-time home-court record vs. Kentucky: 27-62
This year’s games vs. UK: Jan. 25 in Nashville; Feb. 19 in Lexington