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No Kentucky vs. Kansas as SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchups released

Kansas v West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, WV - JANUARY 24: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers reacts to a call in the second half during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at WVU Coliseum on January 24, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

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The matchups for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge were released on Thursday morning. All the games will be played on Saturday, January 27th, and there are some pretty enticing matchups involved here.

It’s worth noting: Kentucky and Kansas will not be playing each other in the Challenge this year. That’s because they are playing in the Champions Classic this season, which means that we’ll get Kentucky and John Calipari making the trip up to Morgantown to take on Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers, a game that will have an overabundance of defense, physicality, athleticism, turnovers and missed shots.

It will be ugly, but it will be fun.

Kansas will host former Big 12 member Texas A&M, a team that is going to sneak up on some people with Robert Williams back in the fold and, finally, with a point guard on the roster.

Other notables:

- Florida is a top ten team in the NBC Sports Preseason Top 25 while Baylor sits at No. 25.

- Alabama is a preseason top 25 team while Oklahoma, who struggled last season to replace Buddy Hield, will show off why Lon Kruger is one of the most underrated coaches in the business.

- Missouri was not selected. They finished at the bottom of the SEC last season but they added Michael Porter Jr., a preseason first team NBC Sports all-american.

Here are all the matchups:


  • Baylor at Florida
  • Tennessee at Iowa State
  • Texas A&M at Kansas
  • Georgia at Kansas State
  • Oklahoma at Alabama
  • Oklahoma State at Arkansas
  • TCU at Vanderbilt
  • Mississippi at Texas
  • Texas Tech at South Carolina
  • Kentucky at West Virginia