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Kentucky's opponent for ACC/SEC Challenge announced, fresh off of an Elite Eight season

Kentucky will face Clemson in the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge.

By Alec Lasley

Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell looks on in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell looks on in the first half against the Arizona Wildcats in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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The non-conference matchups for Kentucky continue to come out and once again, another signature opponent has been put on the calendar.

In the second-annual ACC/SEC Challenge, Kentucky will be on the road. This year, the Cats will face Clemson -- a team coming off of an Elite Eight appearance last season -- according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

Kentucky will face Clemson on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd.

This is in addition to games against Gonzaga on Dec. 7, Louisville on Dec. 14 and then Ohio State on Dec. 21. UK's game against the Zags will be a 'neutral site' game in Seattle with its matchup against Ohio State coming at Madison Square Garden. So, December will be a travel heavy month.

Clemson will bring back come key pieces from its Elite Eight run last year, despite losing some major players. Chase Hunter returns after averaging 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 36 starts last year. During Clemson's NCAA Tournament run, Hunter averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

Ian Schieffelin returns as well, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last year. He started all 36 games. He averaged 14.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in Clemson's NCAA Tournament run.

Two key newcomers are Jaeden Zackery and Viktor Lakhin.

Zackery was Boston College’s third leading scorer last season at 11.3 points per game while adding 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He shot 40.5 percent from three. He has appeared in 102 games in three years, averaging double-digits every season while shooting 40.5 percent from three for his career.

Lakhin is a big 6-foot-11 center who averaged 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks last year at Cincinnati. He averaged 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks during the 2022-23 season.

Kentucky and Clemson haven't played since 1997.

Below are the rest of the ACC/SEC Challenge matchups.

Tuesday, Dec. 3rd:

Arkansas at Miami
Cal at Missouri
Florida State at LSU
Georgia Tech at Oklahoma
Kentucky at Clemson
Notre Dame at Georgia
Ole Miss at Louisville
South Carolina at Boston College
Syracuse at Tennessee
Wake Forest at Texas A&M

Wednesday, Dec. 4th:

Alabama at North Carolina
Auburn at Duke
Pitt at Mississippi State
Texas at NC State
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech
Virginia at Florida

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