This summer, as Mark Pope tried to finalize the 2026-27 Kentucky basketball schedule, rumor circulated that matchup against West Virginia was in the works. Recently, however, that fell through, and it left the Wildcats with an open spot. On Thursday, that spot was filled.
Analyst Rocco Miller reported that Kentucky has scheduled Wichita State for their final non-conference game of the season. A date hasn't been officially set, but Black Friday seems like the safest bet.
The two teams have never met in the regular season before, but they have met in a classic NCAA Tournament game. In the 2014 version of March Madness, they met in what would be an all-time great game, which the Wildcats won 78-76 as an eight-seed. They won their other matchup in the 2017 postseason 65-62.
This year's game will be in Lexington, and although Wichita State hasn't been a tourney team the past few years, they are on the upswing. They won 24 games last year, and should be good again this season.
Once the date for the game is set, we will bring it to you.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky finally adds a Black Friday game to schedule