< Previous18 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Season Starts with a Bang Even John Calipari can sense the palpa- ble buzz heading into the 2021-22 regu- lar-season opener vs. Duke in the Champi- ons Classic. "It's like the biggest game in a decade," Calipari said after the Wildcats' final exhi- bition game. "The tickets are ridiculous. It's crazy." Sure, some of it is hyperbole, especial- ly for a coach that understands Kentucky is "everybody's Super Bowl" and who preaches the process early in the season as his teams figure out how to play. But there's no denying that all eyes will be on Tuesday when the Wildcats face the Blue Devils in Madison Square Garden on ESPN. The game will feature a number of juicy sto- rylines, as is often the case when the two bluebloods meet. It will mark the beginning of the final sea- son of Mike Krzyzewski's Hall of Fame ca- reer. The all-time winningest coach in men's Division I college basketball will hang it up after this season. It seems fitting that his final campaign will begin against the nation's all- time winningest program. The two squads will enter the season ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25. Kentucky will begin at No. 10 and Duke is just a spot ahead at No. 9. Both teams had rare off seasons in 2020- 21 because of COVID-19 complications, but both have retooled and are expected to be among the best teams in the country. Kentucky leads the all-time series 12-10, but Duke has caught up with an 8-2 record over the last 10 games. The two teams have opened the regular season vs. one another three times before. Duke has won all three of those previous matchups. This matchup will mark the first between the two schools since the Blue Devils de- livered UK a 118-84 drubbing in the 2018 Champions Classic, Kentucky's worst loss since 2008 and the largest margin of defeat in Calipari's career. The Wildcats would bounce back with a 30-7 season that ended in the Elite Eight (another reason why Calipari may have been speaking tongue in cheek when he called it the biggest game in a decade). The Champions Classic Kentucky is 5-5 in Champions Classic games, tied with Kansas and one game behind Duke. Michigan State is 4-6. The Wildcats are 1-2 vs. the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic. All three previous matchups were top-10 showdowns (Associat- ed Press Top 25). There have been 13 top-10 matchups in the Champions Classic. Kentucky has been in- volved in seven of them and has a 3-4 record in those games. The Wildcats lost last season's Champions Classic matchup vs. Kansas, 65-62, in an emp- ty arena in Indianapolis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kentucky has never lost more than two in a row in the series. This will mark the fourth time the event is held in Madison Square Garden. UK won the three previous games -- all by seven points or more. Kentucky in New York Kentucky has historically performed well under the bright lights of New York. The Wild- cats are 38-14 in games in the New York City area, including wins in 10 of the last 12 games. In the modern-day version of Madison Square Garden, UK is 14-4. The latest ap- pearance in "the Mecca of Basketball" was a thrilling 69-62 victory for Kentucky on Nov. 5, 2019, in a matchup of the nation's presea- son top two teams. The Wildcats knocked off the top-ranked Spartans behind 26 points in Tyrese Maxey's Kentucky debut. UK is 3-0 in the Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats are 0-2 vs. Duke in all-time matchups in New York. Kentucky in Season Openers Now in its 120th season of college bas- ketball, Kentucky is 98-20 all-time in sea- son openers entering 2021-22 (the Wildcats did not have a schedule in 1952-53 due to NCAA suspension). UK has won 11 of 12 in season openers under John Calipari. Kentucky's lone sea- son-opening loss in the Calipari era was in 2018-19, which snapped a nine-game winning streak that began when Calipari took the job. Prior to that loss, Calipa- ri-coached teams had won 14 straight regular-season openers dating back to his time at Memphis. Included in Kentucky's 98-20 all-time season-opening record was a 34-game winning streak from the 1927-28 season to the 1961-62 season. Big-Game Cal, Cats John Calipari’s teams aren’t just good against the best teams in the country, they’re great. Not only does Kentucky own a 64-38 record (62.7%) vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams under John Calipari, UK is 7-4 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. All-time, Calipari is 13-8 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari’s all-time record is 86-58, including a 55-30 mark at Kentucky. When both are ranked in the top 10 he has a 27-19 record, including 16-12 at UK.167 W Main Street, Lexington | @LockboxLex | LockboxLex.com LEXINGTONLocated at GLOW BIG BLUE Just blocks from Rupp Arena, we’re the perfect destination for your pre-game dinner or post-game drinks. Make a night of it and enjoy free valet parking with the 21c Game Day Package.20 @KentuckyMBB Florida Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 9 p.m. Tuesday February Alabama Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February LSU Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Wednesday February Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Saturday February Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday March Florida Gainesville, Fla. 2 p.m. Saturday March SEC Tournament Tampa, Fla. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 9-13 NCAA Tournament Final Four® New Orleans | TBA March- April TBA LSU Baton Rouge, La. 7 p.m. Tuesday January Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m. Tuesday January Texas A&M College Station, Texas 8:30 p.m. Wednesday January Auburn Auburn, Ala. 1 or 1:30 p.m. Saturday January Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday January Kansas Lawrence, Kan. | Saturday January Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday February Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 8 p.m. Saturday February South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Tuesday February Georgia Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Saturday January Duke New York Champions Classic Tuesday November Robert Morris Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November Mount St. Mary's Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday November Ohio Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November North Florida Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November Central Michigan Lexington, Ky. TBA Monday November Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. TBA Saturday December Southern Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday December Ohio State Las Vegas | CBS Sports Classic | 5:15 p.m. Saturday December Louisville Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Wednesday December Missouri Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday December High Point Lexington, Ky. TBA Friday December UAlbany Lexington, Ky. TBA Monday November Home Neutral Away 2021-22 Basketball Schedule Tennessee Lexington, Ky. TBA Saturday JanuaryWe’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS! KENTUCKY WILDCATS! ® BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BEREA Chad Tate BENTON Michelle Clark BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Joseph Hamilton CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA David Yeiser DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan Will Gilliland FRANKLIN Brian Knapp FRANKFORT BJ Hurst Audrey Marshall GEORGETOWN Steve Black Spencer Kilpatrick HARDINSBURG Sandra Bruington HARRODSBURG Jamie Dunn HENDERSON Lesley Liley HODGENVILLE Teddy Sandford HOPKINSVILLE Scott Leuckel LAGRANGE Paula Kaeser LANCASTER Cindy Lanham LAWRENCEBURG Ashley Bailey Larry Moore LEITCHFIELD Donna Vanmeter LEXINGTON Tony Arnold Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Willie Morrison Maddie Stiles Terry Wolfe Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE Larissa Spears MADISONVILLE Kelly Madison MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STER- LING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller Bob Smith Nick Warren PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Jessica Cole SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin Woolum22 @KentuckyMBB 2020-21 Kentucky Wildcats Final Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 03 Boston Jr., Brandon 25 -24 759 30.4 103 -290 .355 30 -100 .300 51 -65 .785 287 11.5 33 79 112 4.5 49 40 36 33 4 10 Mintz, Davion 25 -21 769 30.8 96 -242 .397 56 -148 .378 40 -61 .656 288 11.5 19 60 79 3.2 49 77 47 25 5 30 Sarr, Olivier 25 -25 628 25.1 93 -198 .470 12 -27 .444 72 -91 .791 270 10.8 52 78 130 5.2 77 32 51 10 30 12 Brooks Jr., Keion 16 -3 375 23.4 64 -145 .441 6 -28 .214 31 -39 .795 165 10.3 40 68 108 6.8 44 26 30 10 13 05 Clarke, Terrence 8 -6 228 28.5 32 -76 .421 5 -23 .217 8 -17 .471 77 9.6 6 15 21 2.6 16 16 22 5 1 23 Jackson, Isaiah 25 -18 519 20.8 74 -137 .540 0 -2 .000 63 -90 .700 211 8.4 53 112 165 6.6 75 17 38 19 65 02 Askew, Devin 25 -20 722 28.9 49 -142 .345 15 -54 .278 50 -62 .806 163 6.5 9 55 64 2.6 46 73 50 23 7 11 Allen, Dontaie 22 -1 309 14.0 39 -100 .390 31 -78 .397 9 -14 .643 118 5.4 5 29 34 1.5 16 6 17 8 6 00 Toppin, Jacob 24 -2 412 17.2 44 -99 .444 4 -13 .308 32 -41 .780 124 5.2 22 63 85 3.5 26 16 20 11 6 55 Ware, Lance 21 -3 253 12.0 13 -32 .406 0 -0 .000 15 -27 .556 41 2.0 24 39 63 3.0 41 8 19 6 11 21 Fletcher, Cam'Ron 9 -1 60 6.7 7 -13 .538 1 -4 .250 0 -2 .000 15 1.7 3 12 15 1.7 10 3 3 5 0 20 Payne, Zan 2 -0 4 2.0 1 -2 .500 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 2 1.0 1 1 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Welch, Riley 3 -1 7 2.3 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 0.0 0 1 1 0.3 1 0 1 1 0 14 Canada, Brennan 2 -0 3 1.5 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 1 0 25 Watkins, Kareem 1 -0 2 2.0 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 -0 .000 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 25 5050 202.0 615-1476 .417 160-477 .335 371-509 .729 1761 70.44 300 651 951 38.0 450 314 349 157 148 Opponents 5050 202.0 628-1521 .413 164-525 .312 334-451 .741 1754 70.16 286 619 905 36.2 456 308 317 155 91The UK HealthCare John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky Basketball SUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK Presented By2020-21 Duke Blue Devils Final Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW REBOUNDS SCORING No. Player GP-S Min.-Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Total Avg. PF DQ A TO Blk. Stl Pts Avg. 21 Hurt, Matthew 18-18 593-33.0 127-225 .564 43-97 .443 38-54 .704 27 77 104 5.8 56 4 28 25 13 14 335 18.6 2 Steward, DJ 18-18 556-30.9 85-197 .431 32-94 .340 37-46 .804 22 46 68 3.8 21 0 40 35 11 20 239 13.3 1 Johnson, Jalen 9-4 183-20.3 38-74 .514 5-9 .556 19-28 .679 14 32 46 5.1 19 1 22 20 8 11 100 11.1 0 Moore Jr., Wendell 18-13 522-29.1 74-164 .451 18-58 .310 31-37 .838 24 70 94 5.2 44 0 52 31 5 22 197 10.9 3 Roach, Jeremy 18-15 511-28.4 62-138 .449 20-69 .290 19-26 .731 10 27 37 2.1 50 1 45 38 0 14 163 9.1 15 Williams, Mark 17-11 262-15.5 52-79 .658 0-0 .000 15-29 .517 32 40 72 4.2 26 1 11 16 26 10 119 7.0 14 Goldwire, Jordan 18-8 523-29.1 40-104 .385 12-38 .316 11-15 .733 15 40 55 3.1 39 0 76 24 1 40 103 5.7 5 Brakefield, Jaemyn 16-2 213-13.4 21-56 .375 5-24 .208 2-6 .333 7 30 37 2.3 22 0 9 8 7 8 49 3.1 13 Baker, Joey 17-0 184-10.9 16-50 .320 13-37 .351 4-5 .800 1 16 17 1.0 14 0 6 10 5 3 49 2.9 34 Coleman III, Henry 14-0 62-4.5 6-12 .500 0-0 .000 1-3 .333 11 8 19 1.4 5 0 2 4 4 0 13 0.9 12 Tape, Patrick 7-1 31-4.5 2-10 .200 0-0 .000 1-3 .333 5 4 9 1.3 7 0 3 2 0 3 5 0.7 51 Buckmire, Mike 3-0 02-0.8 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1 0 1 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.7 30 Savarino, Michael 1-0 00:41-0.7 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 45 Worthington, Keenan 1-0 00:41-0.7 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 Team 31 24 55 8 Total 18 3650 524-1111 .472 148-426 .347 178-252 .706 200 414 614 34.1 303 7 294 221 80 145 1374 76.3 Opponents 18 3650 484-1024 .473 124-326 .380 229-318 .720 175 424 599 33.3 266 5 249 243 82 111 1321 73.4 Mark Williams Wendell Moore Jr.Find your vibe at VisitLEX.com26 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School 0 Jacob Toppin F 6-9 200 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Woodstock Academy 1 CJ Fredrick G 6-3 190 RJr. Cincinnati / Covington Catholic 2 Sahvir Wheeler G 5-9 180 Jr. Houston / Houston Christian 3 TyTy Washington Jr. G 6-3 197 Fr. Phoenix /Compass Prep 4 Daimion Collins F 6-9 202 Fr. Atlanta, Texas / Atlanta 10 Davion Mintz G 6-3 195 Gr. Charlotte, N.C. / Mecklenburg 11 Dontaie Allen G 6-6 205 RSo. Falmouth, Ky. / Pendleton County 12 Keion Brooks Jr. F 6-7 210 Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. / La Lumiere School 14 Brennan Canada F 6-6 198 Jr. Mount Sterling, Ky. / George Rogers Clark 20 Zan Payne G/F 6-4 215 RJr. Lexington, Ky. / Lexington Catholic 23 Bryce Hopkins F 6-6 220 Fr. Oak Park, Ill. / Fenwick 25 Kareem Watkins G 5-8 170 So. Camden, N.J. / Kingsway Regional 31 Kellan Grady G 6-5 205 Gr. Boston / Northfield Mount Hermon School 34 Oscar Tshiebwe F 6-9 255 Jr. Lubumbashi, Congo / Kennedy Catholic 55 Lance Ware F 6-9 225 So. Camden, N.J. / Camden Coaching Staff Head Coach: John Calipari Associate to the Head Coach: James "Bruiser" Flint Associate Coach: Orlando Antigua Assistant Coaches: Ronald "Chin" Coleman, Jai Lucas Quick Facts Location: Lexington, Ky. Founded: 1865 Enrollment: 31,800 Conference: SECNext >