Kentucky opponent reportedly set for CBS Sports Classic, expected to face former Cat

Slowly but surely some of the notable non-conference matchups for Kentucky basketball ahead of the 2024-25 season are being revealed. On Monday, yet another notable one came to light.

According to Jeff Goodman, the CBS Sports Classic date and matchups have been set.

Kentucky will be facing a school beginning a new era as well as the Wildcats are set to play Ohio State. The Buckeyes will be entering their first season under new head coach Jake Diebler. Diebler led the Buckeyes to a 6-2 record last year as their interim head coach.

Kentucky and Ohio State have played just twice since the event began in 2014, with the Wildcats losing both matchups. The last game came in 2019, a 71-65 win for the Buckeyes with both teams ranked in the top-6.

They were expected to meet again in 2021 but covid outbreaks to both UCLA and Ohio State caused a shift in the matchups, when UK played North Carolina.

Ohio State will look quite different from last year. Despite returning Bruce Thornton, Ohio State added players like former McDonald's All-American from Duke in Sean Stewart, former SEC standout Meechie Johnson, an SDSU standout and teamate of Lamont Butler in Micah Parrish and former Kentucky center Aaron Bradshaw, among others.

Kentucky is just 5-5 all-time in the CBS Sports Classic. It won last year against North Carolina, 87-83.

The event is expected to take place on Dec. 21. According to Goodman, the matchups are 'likely' to be held at Madison Square Garden.

This is now another notable non-conference matchup set on Kentucky's schedule. It will be a week after UK's matchup with Louisville and two weeks following UK's trip to Gonzaga on Dec. 7.

The non-conference schedule is starting to roundout for Mark Pope's debut season in Lexington and it's a solid one. Kentucky, who will likely start as a top-20 team, will be tested early and often ahead of what is expected to be an extremely difficult SEC slate.