John Calipari has made it a point of emphasis this offseason
to build a schedule that includes nontraditional games, marquee opponents and a
slate of NCAA Tournament-like experiences that will prepare his team for the
postseason.

The 2012-13 non-conference slate, which was officially released
by UK Athletics on Tuesday, includes all of the following.

With the addition of two more Southeastern Conference games
this year, Kentucky will play a total of 13 non-conference games over a
two-month span. The schedule includes nine games at Rupp Arena, two on the road
and two neutral games against Maryland and Duke to open the season.

For the first time since the 2002-03 season, UK will begin
its year away from the friendly confines of Rupp Arena. The Cats will help open
the brand-new Barclay Center against Maryland on Nov. 9 in the Barclays Center
Classic. Kentucky will stay on the road and play Duke for the first time since
2001 on Nov. 13 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Duke game is part of the
Champions Classic, the second straight year UK has participated in the event.

Coach Cal’s team will open the home portion of its schedule
Nov. 16 with three straight games as part of the Barclays Center Classic against Lafayette (Nov. 16), Morehead State (Nov. 21) and
Long Island (Nov. 23). A trip to Notre Dame for the SEC/Big East Challenge on
Nov. 29 will break up the home stand.

The Cats will return to Rupp Arena for five straight home
games, beginning with a showdown against Baylor on Dec. 1. The game is part of
a two-year deal that will conclude in 2013 when the Cats travel to Cowboys
Stadium. UK defeated Baylor 82-70 last season in the NCAA Tournament to earn
its second straight Final Four berth.

Following Baylor is Samford (Dec. 4), Portland (Dec. 8),
Lipscomb (Dec. 15) and Marshall (Dec. 22).

Kentucky’s annual rivalry game with Louisville will take
place Dec. 29 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. UK won both meetings last
season, including a historic victory over the Cardinals in the Final Four.

UK concludes its nonconference schedule with Eastern
Michigan on Jan. 2.

Prior to the regular season, the Cats will host a pair of
exhibition games at Rupp Arena. The first will be Nov. 1 against Northwood (coached by Rollie Massimino), followed by
Transylvania on Nov. 5. It’s the second straight year in-town Transy has played
UK.

The season officially opens with Big Blue Madness on Oct.
12. The Blue-White Game is set for Oct. 24.

A by-the-numbers breakdown of the schedule is available
below, but first a look at the full nonconference schedule:

Home games are in BOLD
Exhibition games are in ITALICS
* indicates Barclays Center Classic
# indicates Champions Classic

Earlier this offseason, Calipari outlined his philosophy on scheduling. His basic belief is to form
a schedule that will prepare his players for the NCAA Tournament and put them
in a position to win a championship.

For one, that includes more neutral-site games, which this
year’s schedule has in games against Maryland and Duke, but it’s also a
delicate balance of games that will toughen up his players without breaking
them down before the rigors of the SEC. Calipari’s philosophy has always been
to form a schedule that will bolster his team’s RPI, give his players the best
chance to succeed and help his program obtain a favorable NCAA Tournament seed.

This year’s schedule features thirteen teams from 11
different leagues. Combined, the 13 schools posted a 2011-12 record of 248-187,
a winning percentage of .571. Last season, their average RPI, which the NCAA
takes into consideration when forming the 68-team NCAA bracket, was 126.8.

Five were NCAA Tournament teams in 2012, including one Elite Eight team (Baylor) and one Final Four squad (Louisville). Overall, six opponents were in postseason play.

UK played three of the opponents last year (Samford, Baylor
and Louisville), including two (Baylor and Louisville) the Cats saw in the
latter stages of their national championship run.

Two of the teams (Lafayette and Eastern Michigan) UK has
never played before.

Regular-season schedule
breakdown