A potential replacement for the postponed matchup between Kentucky WBB and Tennessee – kentuckysportsradio.com

(UK Athletics | Sarah Caputi)

(UK Athletics | Sarah Caputi)

COVID-19 has infiltrated the SEC, forcing the postponement of UKs second conference game earlier on Tuesday, but a quick fix might be right in front of us.

The Kentucky Womens Basketball Team was supposed to take on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers down in Knoxville this Sunday on Jan. 3, but due to coronavirus concerns, that game has been temporarily shelved. As pointed out to me by Conner Robinson (@ConnerRobinson7) on Twitter, the postponement of other games across the league has incidentally opened up an opportunity for the Wildcats. Robinson noted that Mississippi State is also currently in need of an opponent on Jan. 3.

Across the street from the Vols, the Vanderbilt Commodores are in a similar COVID situation, as theyve postponed their first three SEC games due to coronavirus protocols. One of those games also happens to fall on Jan. 3, in which Vandy would have played No. 12 Mississippi State. Now the Bulldogs are in search of a game to playwhy not Kentucky?

The Wildcats were already scheduled to travel down to Knoxville on Sunday while the Bulldogs would have hosted Vanderbilt. If Kentucky is willing to travel the extra mileage, they could swap out the postponed game against Tennessee with a ranked matchup against Mississippi State.

It works out even more perfectly than that, too, as Robinson explained to me. He pointed out that Kentucky is currently scheduled to play MSU on Jan. 24 while Tennessee will matchup against Vanderbilt on the same day. If the schedule-makers switch UK and Vandy on Jan. 24, pitting the Wildcats against the Volunteers and Bulldogs against the Commodores on Jan. 24, it would cleanly fix the issue. This also assumes that no other major scheduling changes have been made from now until then, which could be a hiccup rescheduling this Sunday with such a small turnaround window.

The biggest downside? It would force Kentucky to play three games in a row against top 15 opponents instead of three spread across four games. If the Cats were to find a way to swap out UT with MSU, then theyd play the No. 12 team, No. 9 team, and No. 5 team in back-to-back-to-back outings.

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A potential replacement for the postponed matchup between Kentucky WBB and Tennessee - kentuckysportsradio.com