(Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
After spending the entire weekend looking for a new opponent to add to this week’s schedule, Kentucky’s basketball program finally decided it couldn’t find a fit in time. In hopes of replacing the opening of the team’s conference against South Carolina, which was delayed due to COVID-19, the team looked at two important options: Detroit Mercy and Hartford.
When these negotiations failed, UK coach John Calipari decided it was not worthwhile to enter another game in such a short time.
“It was (on the table),” said Calipari on Monday. “There were two teams in the MTE (multi-team event) that we didn’t play: Detroit, and their league wouldn’t let them play; and Hartford, who was at the MTE, and we thought about it.
“… We were coming and going, I said,“ Do we really want to prepare for another team when we are concerned about our team? “There are things that we have to improve, we have to perform. … This will not happen.”
Another team that was supposedly at stake was Bellarmine, which joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in June 2019 and officially transitioned to the Division I level this year. According to Matt Jones of KSR himself, Bellarmine was seen as a superior replacement option on December 23, although NCAA rules are supposed to limit that possibility due to the program not being on the original UK schedule. As the South Carolina game has been postponed and is expected to be played at a later date, along with the UK filling a full 27-game schedule with a multi-team event to start the year, Detroit Mercy and Hartford were the only schools available for Kentucky to play this week.
With those options failing for one reason or another, in addition to Bellarmine being off the table, the UK’s opportunities for adjustment games going to the conference this weekend against the State of Mississippi are off the table, right?
Well, not exactly.
According to Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, Kentucky is battling Transylvania “right now”, giving the team a final chance to face a new opponent and receive a moral boost before heading to Starkville on Saturday.
“Kentucky hasn’t added a game this week, but it’s fighting Transylvania’s Division III in the city right now,” Tucker reported. “Opportunity to work on that offensive execution that Calipari talked about a lot yesterday.”
Kentucky did not add a game this week, but it is fighting Transylvania Division III in the city right now. Opportunity to work on that offensive execution Calipari spoke a lot about yesterday.
– Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) December 29, 2020
The confrontation may not count for a victory (or defeat, in that case) in Kentucky’s record, but it is at least something.