Dates Set for Big Blue Madness, Blue-White Game
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dates for Big Blue Madness Presented by Papa John’s, the annual tipoff to the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball seasons, and the men’s basketball Blue-White Game Presented by Big O Tires have been set.
Big Blue Madness will take place Oct. 15 in Rupp Arena at 7 p.m. The Blue-White Game is scheduled for Oct. 22 in Rupp Arena at 7 p.m.
While continuing to monitor the latest health and safety guidelines from local and national authorities, UK Athletics plans to operate venues at full capacity this season, including at Big Blue Madness and the Blue-White Game.
Tickets to Big Blue Madness will be free again this year but there will be no in-person public distribution at Memorial Coliseum due to health and safety measures. Ticket distribution details will be announced later.
Ticket information for the Blue-White Game Presented by Big O Tires, the men’s intrasquad scrimmage, will also be announced later.
Big Blue Madness Presented by Papa John’s will feature introductions of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, practice drills, videos and more. This will be the 16th time Madness has been held in Rupp Arena. Last year’s event took place in Memorial Coliseum as a TV-only event for fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complete schedules for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are expected to be announced soon.
Season ticket renewals for the 2021-22 season are now available for all men’s and women’s basketball season ticket holders. The renewal deadline for men’s tickets is Sept. 9 and the renewal deadline for women’s tickets is Sept. 16.
Renewals are available online through each season ticket holder’s My UK Athletics Account. Printable invoices are also available online by visiting My UK Athletics Account for those who wish to complete their renewal by mail. Fans needing assistance with their online account are encouraged to contact the UK Ticket Office at (859) 257-1818 (option 4) or send an email to uktickets@uky.edu.
The men will enter the 2020-21 season as a Final Four contender with one of the nation’s most experienced teams in the country. UK’s 2021-22 roster currently features a sixth-year graduate, a fifth-year graduate, a redshirt junior, six juniors, a redshirt sophomore, two sophomores, and three highly touted four- and five-star freshmen.
John Calipari’s squad will return 42.1% of its minutes, 41.9% of its scoring, 39.0% of the rebounds, 42.4% of the assists and 60.6% of the 3-pointers from a season ago. For comparison, the only two Calipari-coached Kentucky teams that returned more minutes and more points (in terms of percentages) than the 2021-22 team is slated to return were the 2011-12 national championship squad and the 2014-15 Final Four team that started the season 38-0.
Adding the Wildcats’ four transfers to the equation, Kentucky’s current 2021-22 roster includes 13,385 minutes, 5,203 points, 1,917 rebounds, 1,132 assists and 543 total 3-pointers in college basketball production.
It was a successful first season for the Kentucky women’s basketball program under head coach Kyra Elzy, who led Kentucky to a top 20 listing in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 all season long. Elzy became the first UK women’s basketball head coach to lead her team to the NCAA Tournament in their first season at the helm.
During the 2020-21 season, Kentucky defeated five ranked opponents, including back-to-back against top-15 teams for the first time since 2013. The two wins led Elzy to be named the espnW National Coach of the Week and the United States Basketball Writers Association tabbed UK its first-ever team of the week. UK was one of 10 teams in the nation to have four wins against top-25 NCAA NET teams entering the tournament.
The Wildcats will return a large chunk of their production from the 2020-21, including consensus first-team All-America honoree Rhyne Howard. Howard averaged 20.7 points per game last season, adding 7.3 rebounds per game and a team-best 91 assists. Kentucky’s third, fourth and fifth-leading scorers also return in Dre’una Edwards, Robyn Benton and Blair Green. Point guard Jazmine Massengill, who missed the first half of the season due to NCAA transfer rules after finishing second on the team in assists per game. In all, UK returns 70 percent of its scoring, 3-pointers made and assists, while it brings back 64 percent of its rebounding and 60 percent of its steals.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball teams, follow @KentuckyMBB and @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
