It’s early, but four SEC teams ranked in top 25 will play at Kentucky
Four Kentucky home games against league opponents mentioned in several ultra-early top 25 polls for the 2022-23 season highlighted Wednesday’s announcement of the Southeastern Conference schedule.
UK’s opponents in Rupp Arena games include Arkansas (in the top 10 of polls from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS), Tennessee (top 15 in those polls), Auburn (top 20) and Texas A&M (No. 17 in the CBS poll updated on June 18).
Kentucky, ranked No. 4 in the ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS polls, will play home-and-home series against permanent two-game opponents Vanderbilt, Florida and Tennessee as well as Arkansas and Georgia.
Besides Auburn and Texas A&M, Kentucky will also play LSU and South Carolina once. Those games will be in Rupp Arena.
UK’s away-only opponents are Alabama (top 25 in the ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS polls), Mississippi State, Missouri and Ole Miss.
Dates and start times for the games will be announced at a later date. In announcing its opponents, UK said in a news release that 23 of the top 100 recruits in an ESPN rating had signed with SEC programs. ESPN ranked six of its top 25 freshman classes at SEC programs, UK said.
Kentucky will be playing Arkansas home-and-home for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Arkansas won both of those games in overtime.
In its initial top 25 projection, ESPN had Arkansas at No. 1. Then the losses of JD Notae, Au’Diese Toney and Jaylin Williams caused a drop to No. 10 in the poll updated Tuesday.
In its poll updated June 18, CBS had Arkansas at No. 6. CBS cited the addition of three five-star freshmen (Nick Smith, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh), plus four transfers.
Auburn will be looking to rebuild its front line after Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler entered this year’s NBA Draft.
Sports Illustrated cited a transfer from Morehead State, Johni Broome, as softening the blow and helping put Auburn at No. 16.
The return of veteran perimeter players Wendell Green and K.D. Johnson is an Auburn strength.
Tennessee, which returns four of its top five scorers, has a mix of proven veterans and heralded freshmen.
Sports Illustrated cited “proven rotation players” in Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler in putting Tennessee at No. 11 in its top 25 poll updated June 18. The Vols also added five-star recruit Julian Phillips and Indiana State transfer Tyreke Key.
ESPN noted that Phillips is Tennessee’s sixth five-star recruit in the last four classes and is projected as “a borderline lottery pick” in its 2023 mock NBA draft.
Mark Sears transferring from Ohio gave Alabama “one of the best point guards” in the transfer portal, Sports Illustrated said. He joins veteran guards Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Bradley. ESPN said Alabama will have “one of the deepest and most talented backcourts in the country.” Presumably that would include Quinerly, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
CBS ranked Texas A&M at No. 17. It said that Buzz Williams’ record of taking programs to the NCAA Tournament in his fourth season as coach (Marquette and Virginia Tech) should continue.
UK’s SEC opponents
2022-23 home games: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
2022-23 road games: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
