UK Men’s Basketball Conference Opponents Announced for 2022-23

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference revealed its 2022-23 home-and-away designations for the league schedule on Wednesday. The Kentucky men’s basketball team will once again play an 18-game league schedule with nine contests inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center and nine more on the road.

As announced prior to the 2015-16 season, Kentucky’s permanent home-and-away opponents include Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. This upcoming season, the Wildcats will also play Arkansas and Georgia twice in the regular season.

Kentucky’s league home schedule will include the five aforementioned teams as well as Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M. UK’s road matchups will come against Alabama, Mississippi State, Missouri and Ole Miss in addition to Arkansas and Georgia and the three permanent home-and-home opponents.

Times, dates and television information will be announced at a later date.

The SEC has had 27 NCAA Tournament selections over the last four tournaments. One team has advanced to the Elite Eight in 10 of the last 12 tournaments and every team has made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven seasons.

UK’s home-and-home slate features five intriguing matchups. The Wildcats will take on Arkansas who is the reigning regular-season champions. The Razorbacks have won each of the last two meetings in the series, including a 75-73 win in Bud Walton Arena a season ago. Kentucky leads the all-time series by a 33-13 mark. This will be the first time the teams have played twice in the regular season since the 2013-14 season.

The Cats have won each of the last two meetings with the Gators and have captured wins in seven of the last eight overall. Kentucky is 107-41 all-time against Florida and is 21-9 in the series under John Calipari.

Kentucky earned a 92-77 win over Georgia in its lone matchup a season ago. TyTy Washington Jr. broke the single-game UK record with 17 assists in the contest. The Wildcats are 130-27 against the Bulldogs in the series’ history and are 20-3 under Calipari.

UK has played Tennessee more than any other program in its history and owns a 158-77 all-time series record. The home teams claimed wins in the two regular-season matchups a season ago and the teams have split their meetings in each of the last four regular seasons.

The Wildcats own a 13-game winning streak over Vanderbilt, but it hasn’t always been easy for the Cats. UK has had to overcome double-digit deficits in five of those victories. All-time the Wildcats are 154-47 against the Commodores and are 23-4 under Calipari.

Further enhancing the competitiveness of the league, 23 of ESPN.com’s Top 100 recruits having signed with SEC schools for the 2022-23 class. The SEC boasts six of ESPN.com’s Top 25 incoming recruiting classes.

Kentucky men’s basketball season ticket renewals will begin in July, and all current season ticket holders will receive information by email when the renewal campaign begins. Fans interesting in purchasing new season tickets for the upcoming year are encouraged to sign up now for the men’s basketball season ticket lottery.

The Wildcats’ returning core is headlined by National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, who led the country with 15.1 rebounds per game and also paced the Cats in scoring at 17.4 points per game. Kentucky will also welcome back Sahvir Wheeler, who led the conference and ranked third in the country with 6.9 assists per game. Forwards Daimion Collins, Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware all were instrumental in helping the Wildcats to a 26-8 season a year ago and a No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In all, UK is returning 44.3% of its scoring production, 58.4% of its rebounding, 50% of its steals, 51.8% of its assists and 72.9% of its blocks from a season ago.

Kentucky will also welcome in four dynamic newcomers including top-10 signees Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace. Both players were Gatorade State Players of the Year and McDonald’s All Americans. Fast-rising prospect Adou Thiero inked with the Cats during the late signing period. UK also added one of the top transfers in Antonio Reeves who ranked among the nation’s top 20 individual scorers a season ago at Illinois State averaging 20.1 points per game.

Kentucky will get an early start to its season with a foreign trip to The Bahamas in August for the third time under Calipari. Both previous times the Wildcats came away with positive results. UK first traveled to the island prior to the 2014-15 season which ignited a magical run that ended with an undefeated regular season, SEC regular-season and tournament titles, and a trip to the Final Four. Kentucky earned a 4-0 mark in The Bahamas in 2018, prior to going 30-7 and reaching the Elite Eight in 2019.

For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.