These two stretches on Kentucky basketball's SEC schedule will make or break the season

How Kentucky plays in these six games will make or break the season.

Former Kentucky basketball player and new head coach Mark Pope was animated during his announcement at Rupp Arena in Lexington Ky. on April 14, 2024. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The full Kentucky basketball schedule was just released, so now Big Blue Nation knows when each game of SEC play will occur. At first glance, the schedule is very manageable, but there are some stretches that will define the season.

Let's take a look at two stretches on Kentucky's SEC schedule that will make or break the season for the Wildcats.

The first tough stretch of the SEC slate is when the Wildcats play Tennessee in Knoxville, then host John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks, and the stretch ends with a trip to play Ole Miss in Oxford.

Tennessee is going to have another good team, and they have some veterans. It's never easy for the Wildcats to win in Knoxville. The most anticipated game of the year comes when Calipari makes his return to Rupp Arena. Arkansas has a very talented team that will make the Hogs hard to beat. Ole Miss is a team that many expect to be much better this season, with Chris Beard in his second year.

The next stretch that will have a massive impact on the season starts with a road trip to Alabama, followed by a road trip to Oklahoma, and ends with Kentucky hosting Auburn.

Alabama very well could be the best team in college basketball with Mark Sears back so playing the Crimson Tide on the road will be tough. Oklahoma isn't going to be an elite team, but it will be a road SEC game, and these are always tough. Auburn is set to be a top ten team in college hoops with their big man Johni Broome back for another year making this team tough to beat even at home.

If Kentucky can win four or more games in this stretch, it will be huge, but if they drop a good amount of these games, it will hurt the Wildcats a lot seeding wise.