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The Kentucky Wildcats are set to return to Madison Square Garden for the 2018-19 college basketball season.
We already knew the Cats would face the Seton Hall Pirates at MSG on Dec. 8. On Thursday, the school announced that the game will be broadcast on FOX for a noon EST tip time.
It’s a rare noon game for Kentucky, and it will be a matchup of teams who will look vastly different from during the 2017-18 season. UK lost Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel to the NBA Draft.
They were replaced with Reid Travis, Ashton Hagans, Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, EJ Montgomery and Immanuel Quickely. Along with Quade Green, Nick Richards and PJ Washington returning, the Wildcats are a preseason top-two team in most major polls.
As for Seton Hall, they’re losing starters Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez, Ismael Sanogo, and Angel Delgado from this past season’s team that made it to the Round of 32. They finished with a 22-12 record and 10-8 mark in the Big East.
Seton Hall has made the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons under head coach Kevin Willard. His Pirates finished 21-12 in 2016-17 and 25-9 in 2015-16. However, they have yet to make it part the first weekend of the Big Dance under Willard.
This will be one of many good non-conference regular-season tests for the Cats next season. The Pirates may not have the same hype as Duke, Kansas and North Carolina, but they’ll be a great challenge on a neutral court.