Kentucky has 19-win lead over Kansas as winningest programs set rematch

The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team’s 2016-17 schedule will include a rematch with Kansas.

College basketball’s two winningest NCAA Division I programs of all time will meet for the second season in a row in the Southeastern Conference/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28 in Rupp Arena.

Kansas won an overtime classic over Kentucky, 90-84, last January in Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks’ trip to Rupp Arena will be their first since Jan. 9, 2005, a game that Kansas won 65-59.

UK leads the series 22-7, including a 7-1 mark in Lexington and a 4-1 record in Rupp Arena.

With 33 victories last season, Kansas trimmed six wins off Kentucky’s lead on the all-time victories list, but the Wildcats maintain a comfortable margin.

Kentucky has 2,205 wins, compared to 2,186 for Kansas. Next are North Carolina with 2,173 and Duke with 2,087.

This marks the fourth season of the annual challenge between the SEC and the Big 12 and the second straight season in which all 10 games will be played on the same day.

Ten of the SEC’s 14 teams will participate in this season’s event against all 10 of the Big 12's schools, with each conference hosting five games.

Last season, the Big 12 won seven of the 10 games. Home teams went 8-2.

Seven of this season’s games will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2, one game on ESPN2 or ESPNU, and two games on ESPNU. All 10 games will be available online on the WatchESPN app. Start times and network designations will be announced later.

The announcement of the Kansas rematch adds another challenging piece to a 2016-17 Kentucky non-conference schedule that already includes games against some of the nation’s top programs.

Here are events previously confirmed for 2016-17:

Oct. 14: Big Blue Madness (Rupp Arena)

Oct. 21: Blue-White Scrimmage (Rupp Arena)

Oct. 30: Exhibition game vs. Clarion (Rupp Arena)

Nov. 6: Exhibition game vs. Asbury (Rupp Arena)

Nov. 15: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York)

Nov. 28: vs. Arizona State (Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas)

Dec. 3: vs. UCLA (Rupp Arena)

Dec. 11: vs. Hofstra (Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Dec. 17: vs. North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas)

Kentucky also will play its annual game against Louisville, this year at the KFC Yum Center, and will host Duquesne University. Dates for those games have not yet been made official.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Kentucky has 19-win lead over Kansas as winningest programs set rematch."