Kentucky’s match against the UCLA Bruins this weekend in the CBS Sports Classic is no more. Instead, the Wildcats will take on Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels at 2pm on Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Same time, same place, same channel, new opponent.
Now, UCLA will turn around with North Carolina and Ohio State playing immediately after the game in Kentucky at approximately 4:15 PM
According to UK Athletics, the revised schedule has been designed to better align COVID-19 testing protocols with competing programs and their respective conferences.
North Carolina starts 4-2 and is ranked nationally in both major polls (No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll). The Tar Heels’ two defeats were for Iowa and Texas, both of which are in the top 15 of both major polls.
The Tar Heels return three starters from a season ago and were welcomed into one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Senior forward Garrison Brooks leads UNC with an 11.8 goal average, and guards Caleb Love and RJ Davis made an immediate impact as freshmen. Love and Davis both average 11.2 points per game and lead the team in assists.
Saturday’s match-up marks the third between the two schools in the CBS Sports Classic. UK won both previous meetings in the event. The Wildcats beat the Tar Heels in a Las Vegas classic in 2016 when Malik Monk scored a Kentucky freshman record of 47 points, then beat UNC 80-72 in Chicago in 2018, with Ashton Hagans setting a school record with eight steals.
The UK’s two wins against North Carolina are the Tar Heels’ only losses in the CBS Sports Classic. North Carolina leads the four schools with a 4-2 record. Kentucky and Ohio State are 3-3 each and UCLA is 2-4 in the event.
The CBS Sports Classic annually brings together four of the country’s most successful college basketball programs. The quartet holds a combined 26 national championships, with UCLA (11), Kentucky (eight), and North Carolina (six) ranked first, second, and third respectively in NCAA history. Additionally, all four programs rank in the top six of all Final Four berths of all time, with a total of 65 appearances between them (North Carolina, 20; Kentucky, 17; UCLA, 17; Ohio State, 11). They are among the most awarded college basketball programs, boasting more than 8,200 wins. UK is No. 1 of all time and UNC is No. 3.
Kentucky’s non-conference schedule remains one of the toughest in the country with the addition of the Tar Heels. This will be the second AP opponent the UK has faced this season. Richmond also gets votes in the AP Top 25 and is ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Wildcats play in Louisville on December 26th and Texas host on January 30th in the SEC / Big 12 Challenge at Rupp Arena. Both opponents are currently ranked.
The Southeastern Conference schedule doesn’t get any easier for the UK. Tennessee, at number 10, and Missouri, at number 16, are in the AP Top 25. Three more teams in Florida, Georgia and Arkansas are just outside the top 25 and received votes. Kentucky plays two games against Tennessee and Florida. Having already played Kansas while the Jayhawks were number 7 in the AP Top 25 and based on the current poll, the UK will have a total of seven matchups against top-25 opponents in 2020-21.
Under the NCAA Division I Council’s schedule for this season, teams can play up to 27 games this season (24 regular season games with one three-game multi-team event). Kentucky’s previously scheduled game against Detroit Mercy for December 15 has been delayed due to logistics testing, but the schools are hoping to reschedule later in the season.
The full 2020-21 slate of the Wildcats, with tip times and TV show, can be found here. UK will be seen on national TV in every match in 2020-2021.
Kentucky, with one of the youngest rosters in all college basketball, starts 1-4 for the first time since the 1984-85 season. That team recovered to make the NCAA Tournament and moved up to the Sweet 16.