Alexander Brown
College basketball’s potential Game of the Year is set for the 2024-25 season, after the SEC announced this season’s opponents Monday. John Calipari’s new Arkansas team will travel to Rupp Arena to face Kentucky, but there will only be one scheduled matchup this season between the Razorbacks and the Wildcats, Calipari’s former school.
Each SEC team will play the other 15 teams in the conference at least once and will face three teams for the second time in a “home and home” series. Two of these three teams will play twice a season as permanent opponents, with the other team changing each year.
The three teams Kentucky will play twice this season are Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The three teams Arkansas will play twice are LSU, Missouri and Texas.
The SEC will announce dates and times for conference games at a later date.
Arkansas and Kentucky will field lineups that will be drastically different from the previous season. Since Calipari’s arrival at Arkansas, he has helped land five former Kentucky players (Karter Knox, Zvonimir Ivišić, Boogie Fland, Adou Theiro and Billy Richmond) to pair with former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo and guard FAU star Johnell Davis.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope is building a roster that doesn’t feature any returning scholarship players. His first commitment in the transfer portal came from freshman guard Collin Chandler, who spent the last two years on a Mormon mission. Chandler was Pope’s highest-rated signee (No. 33 overall) during his tenure at BYU.
Kentucky landed high-profile commitments from Dayton shooter Koby Brea, West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa, San Diego State guard Lamont Butler and Oklahoma guard Otega Oweh. All four players project to be impact players as Kentucky enters a new era.
Also new in the schedule release includes Texas and Oklahoma hosting their respective conference opponents as part of an expanded SEC. Oklahoma faces Kentucky at home and Arkansas on the road, while Texas faces Arkansas at home and at home and a home game against Kentucky.
Alabama
Home: Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Absent: Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
At home and away: Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Arkansas
Home: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma
Absent: Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
At home and away: LSU, Missouri, Texas
Auburn
Home: Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Absent: Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
At home and away: ALabama, Georgia, Ole Miss
Florida
Home: Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Absent: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State
At home and away: South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee
Georgia
Home: Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Absent: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
At home and away: Auburn, Florida, South Carolina
Kentucky
Home: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Absent: Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas
At home and away: Alabama, Vanderbilt, Tennessee
LSU
Home: Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt
Absent: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma
At home and away: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
old lady
Home: Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
Absent: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
At home and away: Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State
State of Mississippi
Home: Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M
Absent: Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
At home and away: Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina
Missouri
Home: Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Absent: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas,
At home and away: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Oklahoma
Home: Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Absent: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss
At home and away: Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M
South Carolina
Home: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M
Absent: Kentucky, LSU, Missouri,
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
At home and away: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State
Tennessee
Home: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina
Absent: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas
Texas A&M
At home and away: Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Texas
Home: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee
Absent: Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
At home and away: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Home: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Absent: Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina
At home and away: LSU, Texas, Oklahoma
Vanderbilt
Home: Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas
Absent: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
At home and away: Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee
