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Calipari, Wildcats schedule rare home-and-home series with Utah


By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today

Kentucky and Utah haven’t played in more than a decade. That will change in December.

The two schools have agreed to a home-and-home series, with the Utes visiting Rupp Arena on Dec. 15. Kentucky will visit Utah the following season, with the two foes playing at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 21, 2019. Three days later, Kentucky will take on Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in the same venue.

“We are always trying to put together a schedule that our fans will enjoy while preparing us to be at our best at the end of the season,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “One of the things I hear most about from our fans is they enjoy traveling with us and staying at a destination location for multiple games. That was our goal in scheduling this game with Utah. It gives us a great opponent for our fans at home next season, and then in 2019, our fans can spend a week with us at one of our favorite stops over the last few years. I still get people who come up to me and tell me about how much fun they had in 2016 when we played North Carolina.”

Kentucky owns a 9-2 mark against the Utes and five of the past six games between the two teams have occurred in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats defeated Utah 62-52 in the Big Dance 13 years ago.

The Wildcats’ non-conference schedule hasn’t been completed, but the Wildcats will open the season against Duke on Nov. 16 in the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

In another marquee matchup, next season, the Wildcats will play North Carolina on Dec. 22 in the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center in Chicago.

Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or twitter @keithtaylor21.


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