Men's Basketball Blue-White Game Set for Saturday in Pikeville

Kentucky fans will get another look at the 2022-23 basketball Cats on Saturday night when head coach John Calipari and his team visit Pikeville for the annual Blue-White scrimmage.

Calipari and the Cats moved the game to Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville this season so that the proceeds from the game could benefit flood relief in Eastern Kentucky, aiding those who were affected by this summer’s devastating floods.

Fans in attendance will get a look at the team up close and personal, just over a week after Big Blue Madness was held at Rupp Arena on Friday. Saturday’s Blue-White Game will more closely resemble what the Big Blue Nation will see during the regular season.

Kentucky played four exhibition games in the Bahamas in August, beating four international teams by an average of 50 points per game.

Head coach John Calipari and his staff will split the Cats into two squads – Blue and White – and go head-to-head Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be shown on SEC Network Plus and can be heard on the radio on the UK Sports Network, where the voice of the Wildcats, Tom Leach, will be joined by Jack Givens on the call.

The Blue-White Game will begin a three-game exhibition season for Kentucky prior to beginning the regular season. The Cats will face Missouri Western State on Oct. 30, followed by a final exhibition against Kentucky State on Nov. 3. The Cats will face Howard in the regular season opener on Nov. 7 at Rupp Arena.

Earlier this week, the Wildcats were picked by the league’s media to win the 2022-23 Southeastern Conference championship. Oscar Tshiebwe, the defending National Player of the Year, was picked as this season’s SEC Preseason Player of the Year. In addition to Tshiebwe, UK point guard Sahvir Wheeler was also selected first team All-SEC in the preseason.

Kentucky finished 28-8 last season, but saw the season come to a premature end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were upset by upstart Saint Peters, the No. 15 seed that eventually made it to the Elite Eight.

In last season’s Blue-White game, Tshiebwe scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds as the Blue team beat the White squad 108-80. Daimion Collins had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in last year’s contest, while Lance Ware had 20 points and 10 boards.

Terrence Jones (2011-12) owns the Blue-White Game scoring record with 52 points in the 2011 edition.