Kentucky begins another college basketball season on Monday, and it’s yet another campaign where the program is expected to compete for a national championship. The No. 4 Wildcats host the Howard Bison in their season-opener as the journey toward redemption tips off for this program.
Kentucky enters this season trying to erase the memory of last year’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament, which came in the form of a first-round loss to No. 15 seed Peter’s. While that may have left a bad taste in the mouth of the Wildcats and their fans, they have the roster to make a deep postseason run in 2023. That starts with reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, who chose to return instead of heading to the NBA Draft. He is joined by point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who was named to the preseason All-SEC first team.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Tshiebwe won’t be available for Monday’s opener because he is still rehabbing an offseason knee procedure. Wheeler’s status is also in question after he aggravated a prior knee injury in one of Kentucky’s exhibition games.
Kentucky also brings in a pair of five-star recruits from its 2022 signing class: guard Cason Wallace and forward Chris Livingston. If those two can come in and make an immediate impact, the Wildcats will be a force to be reckoned with yet again under John Calipari.
Howard gets the unenviable task of coming into Rupp Arena on opening night after a 16-13 season in 2021-22 that saw the team finish second in the MEAC. To make the challenge that much bigger for the Bison, they lost leading scorer Kyle Foster in the offseason.
How to watch Kentucky vs. Howard live
Date: Monday, Nov. 7 | Time: 6:30 pm ET
Location: Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky
TV: SEC Network | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)