Kentucky ending their yearly series with Gonzaga is actually a good thing

Kentucky fans everywhere have been wanting the Wildcats to get involved in a premier in-season tournament, whether it's the Players Era or whatever -- just something fun with some high-quality hoops. On Wednesday, it was announced that Kentucky and Gonzaga will end their yearly series against each other, which included home-and-home games for each in addition to neutral site 'home games'. Now, the two schools are looking to get involved in a big in-season event.

Soon after the ending of the Kentucky-Gonzaga series was announced, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander released details of a future in-season event that is in the works, and it is expected to feature both the Wildcats and the Zags. Norlander says the event, called the 'Diamond Cup', is not expected to begin until the 2027-28 season and is still in the works to be finalized. The event, as of now, will feature a pool of eight teams, and you're Kentucky Wildcats are expected to. be one of those. Who are the others? According to Norlander, schools such as Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan, UConn, Indiana, Arizona, Gonzaga, and the Wildcats are all trying to get involved.

Dec 5, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) lays the ball in over Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

It's worth noring that none of the schools are signed to participate yet, given that the event is still in planning stages. But the fact that Kentucky is really looking to finally get involved in a prestigious in-season event that isn't the Champions Classic or CBS Sports Classic is really refreshing to see. Mark Pope has been asked multiple times since arriving in Lexington about the possibility of being in a fun and high-quality in-season event and now, it's looking like it is about to happen and you can thank the Gonzaga series ending for that. With both Kentucky and the Zags mutually ending their yearly battles, that allowed more room for both to try and get into this event, freeing up more space on the schedule.

Dec 5, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Kentucky still has a home-and-home series with Indiana that has a few years left and may even be renewed, but the Gonzaga one never really made sense overall and it's not because the Wildcats lost two of the three games. Now, the Wildcats (and Bulldogs) will have more freedom on their schedule to do things like participate in the "Diamond Cup'. Kentucky will get ready for a gauntlet of a regular-season schedule this upcoming season and then get ready to try and add a fun in-season event to the mix like the ones that many premier programs have already been participating in for years. Removing the home-and-home series allows both teams more time to be able to play in an in-season tournament around holiday time.

The ending of the Kentucky-Gonzaga series is a positive sign in hindsight, BBN because this new event that is in the works would have been hard to pull of if that game was still around in the future.

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