I know that most blue bloods consider the day the Kentucky basketball schedule akin to Christmas morning and I kind of put it right up there with Selection Sunday myself. I know that most of you have been poring over it most of the day, but unfortunately my day job did not allow me to correctly obsess over it until now, so allow me to share my musings with you. Let’s take a look at the out of conference part of the schedule.
NOVEMBER
Wow. This schedule does not allow for a lot of time to build any initial team chemistry, so the two exhibition games will probably be treated as a regular season game. The Cats start the season against East Tennessee State, the same team they beat in the first round of the NCAA Tourney 100-71. Never the less, it looks good to open against a team that made the big dance last season and Calipari seems to enjoy giving these small conference teams a reward for making the dance the previous year. Let’s just hope this game is not as dramatic after last season’s Morehead State opener.
Then it is off on a long road trip for the young Cats. Kentucky faces the 21-11 Portland Pilots, a team that made the CIT Tournament last year. It’s kind of a goodwill game as Terrence Jones gets to play in front of his hometown fans in his likely only NBA season. After Portland, the Cats hop across the pond to play in the Maui Classic, which is a huge upgrade from last seasons Cancun Tourney. For one, the floor will not be warped and cracked. The competition is a lot tougher as well and if the Cats are to win this tourney, they face a probable path of Oklahoma, Washington, and Michigan State. Granted, the Sooners finished 13-18 and lost their last nine games last season, but Washington and Michigan State are potential top 10 teams. The Cats finish November in Rupp against the Boston Terriers, another 20 win team from last year.
DECEMBER/JANUARY
The first part of December gets no easier as UK travels to face bitter rival North Carolina on their home court. Both teams will be young, but hopefully Kentucky’s Maui experience can help them overcome a hostile crowd. Then Kentucky has their annual “home” game in Louisville, hopefully renewing the old Notre Dame rivalry. The Fighting Irish are coming off a 23-12 season and a NCAA bid so they prove to be a worthy foe. Kentucky then finally gets a break in the schedule and gets to open up Christmas presents Indiana (yea, I said it), Mississippi Valley State, Winthrop, and Coppin State in front of a friendly crowds at Rupp. Kentucky will end the year with a New Years Eve battle against the hated Dirty Cards in a game that needs no buildup. Kentucky then gets an easy January gift in the form of the Penn Quakers before starting the SEC schedule.
All in all, it looks to be a really good schedule, and a bit stronger than last years with the possibility of two top ten teams in Maui, Critics will decry the December cupcake four game run that has Indiana, Mississippi Valley State, and Coppin State with a combined 27-66 record last year, but Winthrop was a NCAA team last year (play in game) with a 19-14 record.
The late November/early December part of the schedule is brutal and could give six or seven very tough games on neutral or road crowds, which can only help come March and April. We will take a look at the SEC part of the schedule a bit later on the site, but for now, here is a printable schedule for you to pore over.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans