Kentucky’s already challenging non-conference schedule for the 2021-22 basketball season got more demanding with Thursday’s announcement that the Wildcats will play Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.
Ohio State becomes the fifth UK opponent coming off a season with a final NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking in the top 100. The Buckeyes’ final NET ranking was No. 13.
Other Kentucky non-conference opponents already announced are Michigan (No. 3), Kansas (No. 17), Duke (No. 49) and Notre Dame (No. 98).
Louisville (No. 58) would be a sixth such opponent. Kentucky had a final NET rating of No. 61 last season.
UK is scheduled to play Ohio State on Dec. 18 at a site yet to be announced. UCLA will play North Carolina beginning at 3 p.m. EST in the CBS Sports Classic’s first game.
Ohio State had a 21-10 record last season. The Buckeyes return six of their top eight scorers.
Kentucky was originally scheduled to play North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic this season. Because of COVID-19 testing protocols, the game was moved to last season.
Ohio State, which is coached by Kentucky native Chris Holtmann, has beaten Kentucky in the last two meetings. The Buckeyes won 71-65 in the CBS Sports Classic played in Las Vegas in the 2019-20 season. Ohio State also won 74-67 in the CBS Sports Classic played in Brooklyn in the 2015-16 season.
Kentucky leads the all-time series against Ohio State 11-10.
“I expect Kentucky to be really good as has been the case pretty much every year under Coach Cal,” Holtmann said Thursday. “I’m sure it will be a great early-season test for both teams heading into league play.”
The CBS Sports Classic will be in its eighth straight season in 2021-22. North Carolina has the best record of 5-2 in the event. Ohio State is 4-3, Kentucky 3-4 and UCLA 2-5.
The four teams have won a total of 26 national championships: UCLA 11, Kentucky eight, North Carolina six and Ohio State one.
According to a UK news release, fans interested in attending the 2021 CBS Sports Classic can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket availability by logging on to cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Ticket information will be announced at a later date, the release said.
Ohio State will be among at least six non-conference opponents on Kentucky’s schedule from a top six conference: SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big East. UK has played six such games in each of the last three seasons, and six of the last seven.
UK has already announced games against Duke (Nov. 9 in the Champions Classic in New York), at Michigan on Dec. 4, against Notre Dame on Dec. 11 and a matchup at Kansas on Jan. 29 as a part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Kentucky said it will announce its full schedule for 2021-22 at a later date.
Ohio State also announced its non-conference schedule. In addition to Kentucky, opponents are Akron, Niagara, Bowling Green, Xavier, Seton Hall-or-California-or-Florida in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Duke, Towson, Tennessee Martin and New Orleans.
UK non-conference schedule
Games announced so far for the 2021-22 season, with more to come:
Nov. 9: Duke-1
Dec. 4: At Michigan
Dec. 11: Notre Dame-x
Dec. 18: Ohio State-2, x
Jan. 29: Kansas-3
1-Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York; 2-CBS Sports Classic; 3-Big 12/SEC Challenge. x-Location to be announced.
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