Since the 2013-2014 college basketball season, the Big 12 and SEC have faced off against each other in an annual challenge consisting of 10 games. Of the seven years, the Big 12 leads the series 4-1-2, including a tie in last year’s challenge.
For this upcoming season, Texas will be facing one of the sport’s biggest named programs in Kentucky. The Longhorns will travel to Lexington on Jan. 30.
It will be the third career meeting between the two schools and the second since the inception of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
As usual, John Calipari’s Wildcats are going to be led by highly recruited freshman stars. The two stars are going to be two five-star shooting guards in B.J. Boston and Terrance Clarke.
Those two will be lead by four-star point guard Devin Askew out of Mater Dei High School in Pasadena, California. Askew, Boston, and Clarke are going to form one of the most dynamic young backcourts in all of college basketball.
However, the biggest question will be the eligibility of big man Olivier Sarr. The Wake Forest transfer is still waiting for a waiver approval from the SEC despite getting approval from the NCAA. If Sarr plays for Kentucky he will bring 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game with him.
As deep as Texas’ roster is, the matchup will be the experience of the Longhorns against the youth of the Wildcats. Texas’ one freshman on the roster, Greg Brown, chose to come to Austin instead of Kentucky and will be looking to prove that it was the correct choice.
Calipari has the upper hand over Shaka Smart when it comes to coaching but also recently hired former Texas assistant Jai Lucas. His knowledge of the ins and outs of the Longhorns will give the Wildcats that much bigger of an advantage.
All 10 Big 12 schools will be participating while four SEC teams will not play in the challenge. Here are the rest of the matchups:
- Florida at West Virginia
- Texas Tech at LSU
- Kansas at Tennessee
- Auburn at Baylor
- Iowa State at Mississippi State
- Alabama at Oklahoma
- TCU at Missouri
- Arkansas at Oklahoma State
- Texas A&M at Kansas State
- SEC teams not participating: Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
Texas is 3-4 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, getting two victories over Vanderbilt and one against Ole Miss. Kentucky, LSU has gotten one over the Longhorns, while Georgia won in Athens twice.
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