Kentucky basketball vs. Duke at Rupp Arena next season? It could happen.

John Clay
·4 min read

Random notes:

▪ Could Kentucky basketball actually play at Cameron Indoor Stadium next season? Or could the Duke Blue Devils play in Rupp Arena the week after Thanksgiving in 2023?

Either could happen thanks to Monday’s official announcement of an SEC/ACC Challenge starting next season. ESPN brokered the deal after losing rights to Big Ten broadcasts after this season. This week’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge and January’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge will cease after this year.

Kentucky already plays Duke on a rotating basis in the Champions Classic. But those games are on a neutral floor. Kentucky already plays North Carolina on a rotating basis in the CBS Sports Classic. The Wildcats and Tar Heels or Wildcats and Blue Devils could meet in the SEC/ACC Challenge in years in which UK is not matched up with Duke in the Champions Classic or matched up with UNC in the CBS Sports Classic.

It would be more interesting to see Kentucky go to Durham or Duke come to Lexington. The latter hasn’t happened during a regular season since 1969 when Adolph Rupp’s Wildcats, behind 26 points from Mike Pratt, beat the Blue Devils 98-76 in the championship game of the UKIT.

▪ Jon Sumrall’s terrific debut as a head football coach continues. The former Kentucky Wildcat and former UK linebackers coach leads his Troy Trojans into Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference championship game against visiting Coastal Carolina. ESPN has the 3:30 p.m. telecast.

The 10-2 Trojans are a nine-point favorite. Without star quarterback Grayson McCall, out for the season because of injury, Coastal Carolina lost 47-7 at James Madison last week.

▪ Auburn hiring Hugh Freeze to replace Bryan Harsin means there will be just one new head football coach in the SEC next season. There were two new coaches this season, four in 2021 and four in 2020. There were no new coaches in the conference in 2019.

▪ Alabama’s Nick Saban remains the SEC’s longest-tenured coach. He arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops is second. He arrived in Lexington in 2013. Georgia’s Kirby Smart is third. He returned to Athens to become head coach in 2016.

▪ A former Mississippi State AD (John Cohen) hired a former Ole Miss football coach (Freeze) to be the head coach at Auburn.

▪ Heading into Tuesday night’s games there were just three undefeated teams in SEC men’s basketball. Auburn, Mississippi State and Missouri were each 7-0. Mississippi State has a new coach in Chris Jans. Missouri has a new coach in Dennis Gates.

▪ Among the college basketball teams with at least two losses before the end of November are Kentucky, Gonzaga, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, UCLA and San Diego State.

▪ Raise your hand if you’d like to see Kentucky play in Nike’s next Phil Knight Legacy tournament.

▪ Remember Javon Baker, the former Alabama wide receiver who committed to Kentucky but ended up at UCF? The Atlanta native brings 50 catches for 710 yards and five touchdowns into the American Athletic Association title game on Saturday against Tulane. ABC has the 4 p.m. telecast.

▪ John Wall is making an early bid at NBA Comeback Player of the Year. Through 17 games with the Los Angeles Clippers, the former UK guard is averaging 12.1 points and 5.6 assists. Wall hasn’t played in more than 41 games in a season since 2017-18 with the Washington Wizards.

▪ Sunday features a rematch of the AFC title game when the Kansas City Chiefs visit Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. Cincinnati beat the Chiefs 27-24 in overtime last season in Kansas City to punch its ticket to the Super Bowl. CBS has the 4:25 p.m. showdown between Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. I’ll take Cincinnati at home.

▪ For those outraged by Mark Stoops’ new $9 million salary, Nebraska just hired Matt Rhule as its new head coach for $72 million over eight years. And Ole Miss re-upped Lane Kiffin for an average salary of $9 million. It’s the going rate.

▪ Churchill Downs announced Sunday that “all others” remains the 4-5 favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager for 2023. Forte, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland this month, is second choice at 10-1.

▪ So what’s your verdict on the black helmets, with the new Wildcat logo, that UK wore in last Saturday’s 26-13 win over Louisville? I prefer the traditional blue and old Wildcat logo, circa 1960s, but I was told it looked good on television. That’s what matters, right?

The John Clay Podcast: Reviewing Kentucky football’s win over Louisville

Kentucky football’s Mark Stoops has a balancing act to perform when assessing season

Kentucky falling behind early in Bracketology projections. Here’s why that’s important.

First change to Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football staff confirmed: RBs coach John Settle out

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