Kentucky Set to Host Miami in Inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kentucky will host Miami, a 2023 Final Four participant, in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET inside of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. A TV designation will be announced at a later date.
It will mark just the fifth meeting between the two schools and the first in the John Calipari era. UK is 3-1 overall in the series but fell 73-67 in the last matchup. Miami edged the Cats inside of Rupp Arena on Dec. 6, 2008. This will be the fourth time in five matchups the series will take place in Lexington.
The 2023 slate of ACC/SEC Challenge games will mark the first season of the event between the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kentucky boasts the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class with seven first-year signees including five top-25 prospects in Aaron Bradshaw, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard and D.J. Wagner. Jordan Burks, who led OTE in points per game, and Joey Hart, who captured a state high school crown, were spring additions.
Additionally, Kentucky signed one of the top graduate transfers in Tre Mitchell, who has played in 102 career games, making 92 starts and has scored more than 1,390 career points.
The Cats will also return Antonio Reeves, who averaged 14.4 points per game a season ago and was named the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year. Sophomores Ugonna Onyenso and Adou Thiero also return. Onyenso had a per-40-minute average of 5.7 blocks per game, while Thiero played nearly 10 minutes a game and was a spark off the bench.
The Wildcats will get an early start to their season with a foreign trip to Toronto, Canada, for the GLOBL Jam in July. Canada Basketball, in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, invited the Wildcats to represent the United States in a world-class international basketball showcase featuring Under-23 teams from around the world. In addition to Canada and the United States, GLOBL JAM will feature an African contingent and Germany on the men’s side. Teams will compete in a round-robin format July 12-15, followed by a bronze and gold medal championship game on July 16.
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
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.
