Big Blue Nation is getting a full dose of Kentucky sports this week, with both basketball programs opening their seasons and the football team heading into one of the biggest games on the calendar.
The women’s basketball team gets things started tonight against Morehead State. Kentucky comes in ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll, and Kenny Brooks is entering his third season as head coach. Tip-off is set for 6:30 PM ET on SEC Network Plus.
That’s only the beginning of a busy stretch for the women. They’ll be back on Thursday for NKU at 6:30 PM ET on SEC Network Plus, then close out the week Sunday against NC State at 3 PM ET on ESPN.
The men’s team follows right behind. Kentucky opens its season tomorrow night at home against Manhattan, with the Wildcats ranked No. 23 in the preseason polls and Mark Pope also entering his third season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM ET, and the game will air on SEC Network Plus.
The men have another one coming quickly on Friday, when James Madison visits for a 7 PM ET tip on SEC Network.
As busy as the basketball slate is, football still owns the spotlight. No.
8 Kentucky travels to Knoxville for a matchup with No. 16 Tennessee, and even with the Wildcats ranked eight spots higher in this week’s AP and Coaches Poll, they’re listed as a touchdown underdog.
Kentucky is being given just a 33.2% chance to win.
The stakes are clear for the Wildcats. Kentucky controls its destiny for a place in the SEC Championship game next month, but the path runs straight through a Tennessee team that has controlled this series.
Really need to “walk the walk” this weekend.
In Other News...
Kentucky Faces A Huge Tennessee Chance With The Vols Still Unsettled
Kentuckys next trip back onto the field comes with plenty more than bragging rights attached. When the Wildcats head to Tennessee on Nov. 7, theyll do so with both teams sitting in the thick of the SEC race, Kentucky tied for first and the Vols trying to stay close enough to keep their own championship hopes alive.
The stakes stretch well beyond one November afternoon, with the outcome carrying real weight for the league title picture and the College Football Playoff conversation. Tennessee still has one major question hanging over the matchup, too, as the Vols continue sorting through two candidates at quarterback and the uncertainty adds another layer to an already pivotal game. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Gets An Early Chance To Silence Doubts At Tennessee
Kentucky heads into Week 10 with a chance to answer plenty of questions in one of the SECs oldest rivalries. The Wildcats are 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league play, but the early betting line still has Tennessee as a 6.5-point favorite, a reminder that respect around this team has not quite caught up with the record.
Tennessee brings a 6-2 mark and a 3-2 SEC record into a matchup that has long tilted in the Volunteers favor. The series dates to 1893, Tennessee has won the last five meetings, and Kentucky now gets an early chance to change the tone of the rivalry while giving doubters something harder to dismiss. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Spotlight Stretch Just Added More Stakes For Florida
Kentuckys November run is starting to take on a bigger stage, and the SECs latest game-time announcement only adds to the intrigue. The Wildcats are set for a primetime ESPN slot against Tennessee on Nov. 7, and now the league has placed the Florida matchup on Nov. 14 in the same window, with kickoff slated for somewhere between 6 and 7 p.m. ET pending final confirmation after this weekends results.
For Kentucky, it means another spotlight game in a stretch that will ask a lot of the team and keep the attention fixed squarely on what happens in Lexington. Florida has long been one of the more watched dates on the schedule, and with the Wildcats already lined up for consecutive night games, the stakes around that mid-November meeting only feel higher as the full slate continues to come into view. [Read more 🡒]