The Cats' 2010-2011 Schedule Released

Follow the blue brick road: Breakdown of the 2010-11 men's basketball schedule

By Eric Lindsey on August 26, 2010 2:07 PM

The road for the Kentucky men's basketball team in year two of the John Calipari era has been set.

The UK Athletics Department released the always highly anticipated schedule for the upcoming 2010-11 season Thursday, setting the stage for what should be another wildly entertaining ride. For the second year in a row, Cat Scratches is proud to unveil the complete schedule breakdown, fit with last season's records, RPI, returning starters and what you need to know as a Wildcat fan for each and every game.

Jump ahead and see the breakdown for...

ETSU - Nov. 12
Portland - Nov. 19
EA Sports/Maui Invitational - Nov. 22-24
Boston - Nov. 30

North Carolina - Dec. 4
Notre Dame - Dec. 8
Indiana - Dec. 11
Mississippi Valley State - Dec. 18
Winthrop - Dec. 22
Coppin State - Dec. 28
Louisville - Dec. 31

Penn - Jan 3
Georgia - Jan. 8, Jan. 29
Auburn - Jan. 11
LSU - Jan. 15
Alabama - Jan. 18
South Carolina - Jan. 22, Feb 19

Ole Miss - Feb. 1
Florida - Feb. 5, Feb. 26
Tennessee - Feb. 8, Mar. 6
Vanderbilt - Feb. 12, Mar. 1
Mississippi State - Feb. 15
Arkansas - Feb. 23

Before we dive into each opponent, let's take a look at the schedule as a whole, a slate that includes some of the best teams in the nation.

UK will play 30 regular-season games this year against a pool of 29 teams below (includes all seven teams in the EA Sports Maui Invitational), facing teams that range as far east as Boston and as far west as Hawaii. The Cats have 15 home games, 10 away and five at neutral sites, including Maui and a marquee matchup with Notre Dame in Freedom Hall.

"This year's schedule challenges us from game one and I hope it will prepare our young team for the battles we will face in March," Calipari said. "Great job by John Robic and our athletic department in getting the schedule together. There should be lots for the Big Blue Nation to get excited over."

Much like last year, Calipari made a concerted effort to play as many NCAA Tournament-type games as possible to prepare a freshman-laden UK team for the Big Dance. In molding an NCAA Tournament-ready squad - one worthy of a favorable seed - Calipari took direct aim at the RPI once again. He scheduled teams that are expected to compete for league titles and put UK in as many NCAA tourney scenarios as possible (hence, the emphasis on future neutral site games).

What that translates to is a schedule that consists of some of the nation's best teams from a possibility of 15 conferences. Fourteen of UK's possible opponents this season (factoring in the Maui Invitational) finished in last year's final RPI top 100. Only five teams resided 200 or above in last season's RPI.

And if the RPI isn't your thing, consider this: 16 teams made postseason play of some sort, including nine that made the NCAA Tournament field. Two of those teams - Tennessee and Michigan State - advanced to the Elite Eight, with Michigan State going to the Final Four.

The schedule oozes with diversity and NCAA tourney-like games. The Maui Invitational in November will give the talented but inexperienced incoming class a taste of tournament play. UK will have little time to recover from the sandy beaches of Hawaii as it faces North Carolina, Notre Dame and an improving Indiana team to start December. Potential sleepers exist in East Tennessee State, Penn, Winthrop and Boston, all of whom are expected to compete for their respective conference crowns.

A lot of questions surround the Southeastern Conference Western Division, but the SEC East could be the best it has been in several years. Stars like Georgia's Trey Thompkins, Florida's Kenny Boynton and Tennessee's Scotty Hopson return to make the East the beast of the conference. A number of teams ranging from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee have been picked in the preseason to compete for the East crown. All four teams - as many as the entire conference got to the NCAA Tournament a year ago - are expected to earn a bid in the 68-team tournament.

The pinnacle of the schedule will come March 6 when UK travels to Tennessee. For the first time since the 1998-99 season, the increasingly heated rivalry between the Wildcats and Volunteers will take place on the final day of the regular season. A lot, including the SEC regular-season crown, could be on the line.

The best part of the schedule is fans will be able to follow UK's journey nearly every step of the way thanks to the second year of the SEC's historic 15-year deal with ESPN and CBS. A total of 21 UK games will be televised on CBS or ESPN's family of networks - three more than last year - in addition to four on the SEC Network. The SEC Network and ESPNU now reach more than 80 million and 73 million homes, respectively. The remaining games not televised could still be picked up by FSN, CSS and the Big Blue Sports Network, which will be announced at a later date.

Also, for the second season in a row, Kentucky will be featured as a part of ESPN's highly popular College GameDay show. On Feb. 5, Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and the rest of the GameDay crew will head to Gainesville, Fla., to profile all the action.

The only thing that remains now is two months of agonizing waiting until Big Blue Madness on Oct. 15. If that wait seems unbearable, the super-long and extensive team-by-team breakdown of the Cats' 2010-11 opponents below should get you through at least September.

If we have Kanter ready from day 1, it doesn't matter who we play - we'll be favored.

"We're gonna win em all."


--Little Bastard

SouthernIndianaCatsFan wrote:"We're gonna win em all."


--Little Bastard

It sounded ridiculous considering who the coach was at the time. Now, not so much.