Kentucky Basketball released the non-conference schedule for the 2017-2018 season.
John Calipari has is work cut out for him this coming season. The Kentucky Basketball team will be one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight freshmen making their way to Lexington. Also, the fear of youth is subtle considering the fact that this recruiting class is considered to be the best ever.
Meanwhile, Kentucky has released the non-conference schedule for the 2017-2018 season. Scheduling the non-conference is a huge importance for Kentucky as they will look to find wins with such a young team. Here is the schedule as it stands today.
Nov. 10 Utah Valley
Nov. 12 Vermont
Nov. 14 Kansas (Champions Classic-Chicago, IL)
Nov. 17 East Tennessee State
Nov. 20 Troy
Nov. 22 Fort Wayne
Nov. 26 University of Illinois at Chicago
Dec. 2 Harvard
Dec. 9 Monmouth (Citi Double Cash Classic- New York City, NY)
Dec. 16 Virginia Tech
Dec. 23 UCLA (CBS Sports Classic-New Orleans, LA)
Dec. 29 Louisville
Jan. 27 West Virginia (Morgantown, WV)
Non-Conference Rivalries
The Kentucky Basketball program is probably the most recognizable phenomenon in College Basketball. With that said, other programs such as Kansas, UCLA, and Louisville are all high profile games for this team. With Kentucky’s squad being so young, those games will definitely show a testament as to how talented this team actually is. While those programs reel in top prospects each season just like Kentucky does, talent will not decide those games alone. Albeit, the level of recruiting at Kentucky has a history of being superior to others. Due to recent history, sometimes talent and recruiting can only take you so far.
#BBN, we know you’ve heard some reports and rumors of our 2017-18 nonconference schedule. We’re here today to show you the full thing. pic.twitter.com/pM6dgiXKlX
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 6, 2017
Furthermore, the true tests during this non-conference schedule are teams like West Virginia, Harvard, Monmouth, and Virginia Tech. West Virginia under Bob Huggins is one of the most hard-nosed defensive teams in the country. Also, this Kentucky squad must show some maturity in this game to get the win. Also, in matches with Monmouth and Harvard, those teams are gritty, and well coached enough to pull out an upset.
Next: 3 reasons Kentucky wins the 2018 National Title
The team is going to be tested early in the season with the matchup against Kansas on the big stage of the Champions Classic. Hopefully, the talent that this team will bring to the floor will make up for any young mental mistakes that they will inevitably make along the way.