UK vs. Kansas game time and TV channel set for SEC/Big 12 Challenge

The Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks will face off once again.

This time, it will be in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which the league announced game times and TV channel info for on Thursday. The annual event will take place on January 26, 2019.

Here is a look at the full slate of games (all times EST):

2019 SEC/Big 12 Challenge

• 12:00 p.m. - Florida Gators at TCU Horned Frogs (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 12:00 p.m. - Alabama Crimson Tide at Baylor Bears (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 12:00 p.m. - Iowa State Cyclones at Ole Miss Rebels (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 2:00 p.m. - Kansas State Wildcats at Texas A&M Aggies (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 2:00 p.m. - Texas Longhorns at Georgia Bulldogs (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 2:00 p.m. - South Carolina Gamecocks at Oklahoma State Cowboys (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU)
• 4:00 p.m. - Vanderbilt Commodores at Oklahoma Sooners (ESPN/ESPN2)
• 4:00 p.m. - West Virginia Mountaineers at Tennessee Volunteers (ESPN/ESPN2)
• 6:00 p.m. - Kansas Jayhawks at Kentucky Wildcats (ESPN/ESPN2)
• 6:00 p.m. - Arkansas Razorbacks at Texas Tech Red Raiders (ESPN/ESPN2)

While it’s not official yet, you can bet the Kentucky - Kansas game will get the ESPN designation.

Kansas is coming off a 31-8 season in which they advanced to the Final Four before losing to eventual-champion Villanova. The Jayhawks are projected as the preseason No. 1 or 2 team in many of the early top-25 projections for the 2018-19 season.

Kansas lost much of its backcourt after Malik Newman decided to turn pro while Devonte Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk graduated. However, they do get Lagerald Vick back while adding five-star guards Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes, along with transfers Charlie Moore, Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson.

Silvio De Sousa also returns for his sophomore season after a strong finish as a mid-year enrollee last season. Udoka Azubuike also returns for his junior year after a breakout sophomore campaign.

Right now, nearly every preseason top-25 poll has Kentucky and Kansas ranked No. 1 and 2 in some order. Both teams have a great blend of incoming talent to go with veteran experience, so it won’t be a surprise if they face off in January as the top two teams in America.

The Wildcats are in a bit of a slump against the Jayhawks, losing three straight, including a narrow loss in the Champions Classic last season.

Here’s a look back at the last time UK beat Kansas, which was in the 2014 Champions Classic:

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