History, Logic Give Rough Idea When, Where Arkansas, Kentucky will meet
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Simply based on the back and forth between Arkansas and Kentucky fans alone, there seems to be little doubt about whether next season's basketball game will end up claiming one of the eight featured slots the SEC holds with ESPN as part of the rights deal that gave the network control of the prime football and basketball games previously controlled by CBS.
While that seems to be a given considering it will be the first time John Calipari steps onto the court to coach against his former school, predicting when this game will take place is about as easy to nail down as throwing darts backward and blindfolded after being spun around. Other than where the game will take place, there's not a lot of rhyme or reason to where the SEC has placed the Arkansas-Kentucky match-up on the schedule over the years.
Considering Razorbacks and Wildcats played one another twice each of the past two seasons and there will be a need to eliminate at least two of the repeated games in the conference schedule to account for Texas and Oklahoma, it's unlikely the Hogs and 'Cats square off twice for a third season in a row. The last game was in Rupp Arena, but it should be noted that the single game pattern suggests next year is another Lexington cycle and it's a bigger advertising sell to have Calipari going back to Kentucky rather than Mark Pope bringing his team to Bud Walton.
The game itself has been on just about every weekend the SEC offers over the past seven seasons. The only two to repeat are the last weekend in February and the first weekend in March.
2018
Feb. 20, BWA
2019
Feb. 26, Rupp
2020
Jan. 18, BWA
2021
Feb. 9, Rupp
2022
Feb. 26, BWA
2023
Feb. 7, Rupp
March 4, BWA
2024
Jan. 27, BWA
March 7, Rupp
Considering the conference will want this game on later in the year when it will have not only SEC championship impact, but also NCAA seeding implications, late February to early March is a pretty good bet. Plus, ESPN is going to want to maximize potential viewership, so making sure it's post-Super Bowl is pretty much a guarantee.
So, while both sides may be all hot and bothered over all the recruiting hoopla going on right now between the two schools, it's going to be a solid 10 months before anything can actually be settled on the court. By then, the only other question remaining regarding these two programs will be how many ads Tyson Chicken buys to play throughout the game as a clear reminder to both fan bases how this all happened in the first place.
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KENT SMITH
Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.