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Report: Kentucky vs. Michigan in London Will Move to 2022 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
May 19, 2020
The men's college basketball game between Kentucky and Michigan at the O2 Arena in London set for Dec. 6 will reportedly be rescheduled for December 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported the update Tuesday.
Next season's game was supposed to kick off a three-year series between the Wildcats and Wolverines.
The 2022 meeting was scheduled to take place UK's Rupp Arena. It's unclear whether the teams will flip the dates, with Kentucky hosting the 2020 game and the series then finishing in London.
Michigan Men's Basketball @umichbball🚨 SCHEDULING NEWS! 🚨 〽️🏀 will start a 3-game December series with @KentuckyMBB starting next season ... with a slight twist G1 ➡️ 2020, London's O2 Arena G2 ➡️ 2021, Ann Arbor G3 ➡️ 2022, Lexington Full Details | https://t.co/fnLYpdCbeD #GoBlue https://t.co/FQlQn7fTZQ
Wildcats head coach John Calipari released a statement after the games were announced in December:
"This series with Michigan checks off a lot of boxes when we're looking at teams to schedule. The first thing is, to add an opponent like Michigan and to do so at a point in the schedule where we're beginning to find out who we are as a team will be important in our development.
"And then to be able to do something different—to be first, which our fans know we love to do—and play this first game is London will be an unforgettable experience for our players and for our fans. I imagine the home-and-home games the following seasons will be as good as any non-conference games in the country."
Kentucky holds a 5-1 record in the storied programs' six meetings. In their most recent matchup, UK won 75-72 in the Elite Eight of the 2014 NCAA tournament.
The Dec. 6 event, dubbed the London Showcase, was also scheduled to feature a game between Marist and UMBC. It's being run by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.