North Carolina, Kentucky Men’s Basketball to Play Saturday Due to UCLA’s COVID-19

The Battle of the Blue Bloods is back in the CBS Sports Classic as North Carolina and Kentucky men’s basketball announced their newly scheduled matchup. 

The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Tar Heels were originally slated to face UCLA on Saturday afternoon; however, COVID-19 issues within the Bruins program forced them to cancel yet another game. The program had to cancel its Wednesday game against Alabama State earlier this week due to COVID-19 protocols.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats were supposed to face Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are also facing COVID-19 issues. Following positive tests, the matchup was canceled, sending Kentucky’s CBS Sports Classic future in question. 

This is the second consecutive year that North Carolina and Kentucky will meet in the CBS Sports Classic. In 2020, the Tar Heels were supposed to play Ohio State while the Wildcats had UCLA; however, the opponents were swapped in order to match teams with similar COVID-19 testing protocols.