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UPDATE 3
Kentucky’s new opponent will be announced tonight during John Calipari’s call-in show.
Kentucky has scheduled a new opponent for Wednesday
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) December 20, 2021
According to an email from UK Sports and Campus Marketing to the @UKSportsNetwork radio affiliates details will be announced tonight on the John Calipari Coaches show tonight.
You can stream the show below starting at 6 pm ET.
Finally, The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker adds that Texas and Wisconsin are among the teams Kentucky has tried to schedule this week.
Don’t know who they’ll end up with, but Kentucky has tried seriously to replace Louisville this week with a game against Gonzaga, Texas, Wisconsin and at least one other quality program. Lotta moving parts have made it a real challenge on short notice.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) December 20, 2021
UPDATE 2
According to KSR’s Matt Jones, Kentucky vs. Bellarmine is unlikely to happen.
In addition, Jones reports that Gonzaga, Florida State and UConn are among the teams Kentucky has looked into playing instead.
Hearing Kentucky reached out to Gonzaga, UCONN and Florida State among other teams as possible opponents. There are roadblocks with all and logistics being worked out to find a team. UK wants to keep its prime TV slot Wednesday
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 20, 2021
For people who wonder, WKU already plays Wednesday
Give Kentucky credit for at least trying to find a marquee team to play on short notice.
UPDATE
Shortly after word came out that the Kentucky Wildcats will not be facing the Louisville Cardinals this week, sources started to come out that another school inside the city of Louisville might be making the trip to Lexington instead.
According to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, Bellarmine is the team that is trending to be the replacement for the Cards.
Sources: Bellarmine and Kentucky are close to finalizing a deal to have the Knights step in for Louisville and play the Wildcats in Rupp Arena this week. Could be a two-year deal. Would be a big opportunity for Scotty Davenport's program.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 20, 2021
It has also been reported by Kyle Tucker of The Athletic that Kentucky is looking for a “name brand” opponent to take the place of Louisville, and that the Knights could be a second option.
From what I gather, we might need to pump the brakes on the Bellarmine thing. I believe Kentucky would exhaust options for a name opponent before scheduling that one.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) December 20, 2021
We will have more updates throughout the day of this fluid situation.
For the second straight week, the Kentucky Wildcats have had a game affected by COVID-19.
Last week, it was the CBS Sports Classic matchup with Ohio State that got nixed due to COVID-19 issues within the Buckeyes’ program. Thankfully, Kentucky quickly got a replacement game vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels, and you know how that went.
Now, Kentucky’s annual rivalry game vs. the Louisville Cardinals has been called off. COVID-19 issues in the Cardinals’ program is the culprit.
This doesn’t come as a real surprise after Louisville had COVID-19 issues last week, which included star center Malik Williams missing Saturday’s loss to Western Kentucky due to COVID-19 protocols.
We’re seeing COVID-19 cause tons of postponements and cancellations across sports, namely the NBA and college basketball. It’s gotten so bad that Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler admitted Saturday that “this could be a last game for a while” in reference to the team’s win over North Carolina.
Kentucky has since announced that it’s looking for a replacement opponent to play this week.
Our game vs. Louisville Wednesday has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 results within the UofL program. We are working to find a replacement game for either Wednesday or Thursday in Rupp Arena.https://t.co/pd5HBAHfWk
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 20, 2021
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