Kentucky men’s basketball has officially revealed its upcoming, 18-game conference schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Game times are still to be determined, and Kentucky is still working to finalize its exhibition and non-conference portions of its schedule. Additionally, some conference games still await finalization on date.
As it stands currently, the non-conference play includes the likes of Kansas on Nov. 10 for the Champions Classic at United Center, Indiana on Nov. 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium and Louisville at home.
The Wildcats are slated to begin SEC play on Jan. 2 at Oklahoma, where they hold an all-time record of 6-0 against the Sooners. The teams’ most recent showing hosted a 94-78 victory at Rupp Arena, and in the past three victories against Oklahoma, Otega Oweh led the scoring.
Oweh put up 28, 27 and 24 points in each of those last three games, respectively, starting on Feb. 26, 2025. The former Sooner also had the winning goal in the final seconds of the first two of the aforementioned games, one of those during the SEC Tournament.
Following the conference opener, the Wildcats will return to Rupp for their home opener against Ole Miss on Jan. 5/6. The last time Kentucky took on the Rebels featured a 72-63 Kentucky victory in Lexington to give the Cats their fifth consecutive victory. Kentucky held the Rebels to 32.2% shooting from the field
The Cats won’t stay at home for long, as they will hit the road again on Jan. 9 to head to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Tigers. This past season, the regular-season game against Mizzou was the Wildcats’ second conference matchup of the season, where they suffered a devastating 73-68 loss. Kentucky got its much-needed retaliation, however, in the SEC Tournament with a 78-72 victory over the Tigers, highlighted by the Cats, finally, successfully holding off Mizzou from a late-surge comeback.
Kentucky will then welcome LSU to Lexington on Jan. 12/13 after sweeping the Tigers in both games played last season – both of which were not on home soil for the Cats. The first matchup in Baton Rouge, the Cats overcame an 18-point deficit to take the Tigers 75-74, featuring a mid-range buzzer beater from Malachi Moreno.
The second matchup took place in Nashville as the SEC Tournament opener for the Cats, where Kentucky took the 87-82 win. The Cats will face off against former Wildcat Mo Dioubate, who transferred to LSU in early April.
Then, Kentucky will stay in the Bluegrass to take on Vanderbilt on Jan. 16.
Last season, the Wildcats suffered a blowout, 25-point loss to the Commodores early in the season, yet managed to redeem themselves just a month later in the second game of the series. The Cats defeated Vandy 91-77 in a game where Kentucky maintained control of the lead for the entirety of the evening.
Kentucky leads the series 159-51, including 88-16 in Lexington. The Commodores, however, are one of the fastest growing SEC teams as of late, and they landed a top-25 national transfer class to join the returning Tyler Tanner, who averaged 19.5 PPG and 5.1 APG.
Hitting the road again, the Cats will head to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on Mississippi State on Jan. 19/20. The Bulldogs are one of the weakest teams in the Conference, and the Cats have won 20-straight regular season matchups against Mississippi State dating back to 2009.
Back in Lexington on Jan. 23, the Vols will head up north to take on the Cats. Kentucky swept the regular season series against Tennessee earlier this year, winning 80-78 and then 74-71. Kentucky leads the Vols 96-20 in home games, and have won seven of the last ten meetings beginning in March 2022.
Kentucky will then take its longest road trip of the conference down to Texas on Jan. 30. The Cats came out victorious in the teams’ showing in January of last season, and led the Longhorns 3-1 in the series. Kentucky’s only loss came at Texas’ home court, Moody Center.
Staying way down south, Kentucky heads to Mississippi on Feb. 2/3 to take on Ole Miss in the second game of the series this upcoming season.
On Feb. 6, Kentucky heads back to Rupp to welcome Alabama. The Cats fell to the Tide 89-74 in a disappointing conference opener in early January.
Staying at Rupp, South Carolina will be the Wildcats’ following opponent on Feb. 9/10. The Cats took down the Gamecocks 72-63 in Columbia, South Carolina, this past season. The Gamecocks are slated to be one of the easier opponents in the conference.
The next matchup will be on Feb. 14 at Tennessee for the second game of that series, then three days later, the Cats will be at Georgia. Kentucky leads the Bulldogs all-time 132-20, yet fell in the teams’ matchup last season 86-78.
On Feb. 20, the long-awaited game of the season will have arrived when Kentucky finally welcomes back former head coach John Calipari and Arkansas. Kentucky defeated the Razorbacks 85-77 in Fayetteville, Arkansas in their last showing, yet lost 89-79 in the first showing with Calipari at the helm of Arkansas. This first game of the series with Calipari as head coach took place at Rupp, and Kentucky will be sure to want this win a little more.
The second game of the Vanderbilt series will be on Feb. 23/24 in Nashville, and then the Cats will be back in Lexington to take on Auburn on Feb. 27. The Cats fell by one point in the last showing in Alabama when Auburn got a go-ahead rebound to take the lead with 1.2 seconds left in the game.
Texas A&M is up next for the Cats on March 2/3 in Lexington. Kentucky fell 96-85 in the last showing, yet lead the series 14-7. The Aggies have a strong forecast for this upcoming season with its offensive talent that was added during the offseason.
The Cats will finally wrap up their regular season at Florida on March 6. Florida was not only the season closer for Kentucky last season – where the unranked Cats lost 84-77 to the then-ranked No. 5 Gators – but Florida was also the team that ended Kentucky’s SEC run. The Gators will be sure to be national title contenders again this upcoming year, and one of Kentucky’s most difficult opponents.
With the conference stage mostly set, Kentucky now awaits its exhibition and non-conference opponents to be announced. The schedule as it currently stands can be found through UK Athletics’ website.
