The Kentucky basketball program has been on the hunt for a new opponent this weekend following Ohio State’s cancellation due to an outbreak of COVID-19.
As of Thursday evening, it appears the Wildcats have found that replacement.
According to multiple sources, coach John Calipari and his No. 21-ranked squad will face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas.
#BREAKING: @KentuckyMBB is planning to play @UNC_Basketball after their matchup against Ohio State was cancelled due to COVID issue inside the Buckeyes program, per sources. #BBN @FOX56News
— Nicole Hutchison FOX 56 (@nhutchisontv) December 16, 2021
UNC is technically still scheduled to play against No. 4 UCLA in Las Vegas on Saturday, but that could soon be changing. With a COVID-19 outbreak within the Bruins program, Mick Cronin and his team were forced to postpone yesterday’s matchup against Alabama State.
The “current plan” of Kentucky vs. North Carolina will only become official when/if UCLA officially opts out of the game.
BREAKING: Source tells KSR that the “current plan” is to play North Carolina but that isn’t official yet because UCLA hasn’t officially opted out of the game yet
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 16, 2021
Both Kentucky and UNC have lost each of their games this year against ranked opponents. This surprise matchup would give each program the chance to prove themselves against legitimate competition while making up for lost games against top-25 teams.
With the rising number of positive cases over the past few weeks, schedule shuffling and other COVID-19 barriers like this could become the norm around the college basketball world.
Stay tuned for an official announcement of these reports.
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