Clemson, Kentucky Set Late Game Time for ACC-SEC Challenge Contest

The Clemson Tigers and their fans will be staying up late when the Kentucky Wildcats pay them a visit during basketball season.

Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell reacts in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

It’s been nearly 100 years since the Kentucky Wildcats came to Clemson to face the Tigers. What’s a few extra hours?

On Monday ESPN announced the game times for the ACC-SEC Challenge, which will pit the Wildcats against the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers already have several games set for home this season and those contests tip at 7 p.m. eastern.

Well, ESPN ensured that everyone will be staying up late on Dec. 3 by setting a 9:30 p.m. eastern tip time.

It’s certainly the most anticipated game on Clemson’s home non-conference schedule. It isn’t just that Kentucky is one of college basketball’s traditional powers. It will be the Wildcats’ first visit to Clemson since 1933.

Kentucky also has a new head coach in Mark Pope, who replaced John Calipari after he left to take over the program at Arkansas.

Clemson is coming off its biggest season since 1980, the last time it reached the Elite Eight. This past March in the NCAA Tournament, Clemson was a No. 6 seed and defeated No. 11 New Mexico, No. 3 Baylor and No. 2 Arizona before falling to No. 4 Alabama.

Coach Brad Brownell has led the Tigers since 2010 and in that span he’s won 265 games. Since the 2017-18 season he’s led the Tigers to 20 or more wins four times, three NCAA Tournament bids and two NIT bids.

With that, all of Clemson’s home game times have been set except for its Dec. 14 contest with Memphis. There is no television designated yet for that game. The tip-off time for the Tigers’ road trip to South Carolina on Dec. 17 has also not been set.

The Tigers host Augusta on Oct. 30 in an exhibition game before opening the season at home against Charleston Southern on Nov. 4. That contest is followed by two more home game against Saint Francis on Nov. 8 and Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 12. All three games are set for 7 p.m.

Clemson’s first road trip will be to Boise State on Nov. 17, with game time to be determined.

The next week starts the Sunshine Slam, which begins with a home game on Nov. 21 as the Tigers host Radford at 7 p.m.

From there, the Tigers head to Daytona Beach, Fla., for the rest of the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Nov. 25-26. The Tigers will face San Francisco on Nov. 25 and then either Penn State or Fordham on Nov. 26.

Clemson then hosts Florida A&M at 7 p.m. on Nov. 29, followed by the Kentucky and Memphis matchups, which lead into the South Carolina road trip to end non-conference.

The men’s ACC opponents were determined in February, with the full schedule to come.