Wildcats Today

Kentucky Hosting Miami in Inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge

The Cats and Canes will square off for the fifth-ever time in late November at Rupp Arena.

Hunter Shelton

Kentucky Hosting Miami in Inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge
Kentucky Hosting Miami in Inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge /
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Big Blue Nation was hit with a wave of disappointment on Wednesday morning, as the matchups for the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge were announced by the two conferences. 

Instead of a blue-blood battle against Duke or North Carolina for Kentucky basketball, the Wildcats were paired against a 2023 Final Four attendee: The Miami Hurricanes. 

The matchup will take place at Rupp Arena in Lexington on Tuesday, Nov. 28. It will be the fifth time that the Cats and Canes will have squared off and the fourth time it will have gone down in the Bluegrass. 

Kentucky won the first three meetings of the series, but the Canes took the most recent showdown — at Rupp Arena — in 2008, 73-67. UK shot 35.7 percent from the floor and 2-23 from deep. Patrick Patterson put up 19 and 16, but Jack McClinton led Miami with 23 points. UK owns wins over the Canes in 1956, 1998 and 2000.

Before Miami made the Final Four this past March, head coach Jim Larrañaga's team made the Elite Eight in 2022. The Canes are featured in multiple way-too-early preseason top-25 rankings. 

Miami is added to Kentucky's non-conference slate that also consists of Kansas, Gonzaga, Louisville and Notre Dame, as well as a to-be-announced foe in the CBS Sports Classic. 

Kentucky's SEC opponents for the 2023-24 season were revealed on June 26. Headlining the ACC/SEC Challenge is Tennessee at North Carolina and Duke at Arkansas. Louisville was the lone team in either conference to not be included in the midweek event. 

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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Hunter Shelton
HUNTER SHELTON

Hunter Shelton is a writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Wildcats Today, covering football, basketball, baseball and more at the University of Kentucky. Hunter is a Lexington native and has been on the UK beat since 2021.