The much-anticipated Kentucky basketball schedule was finally unveiled on Friday with the season looming less than three weeks away.

Delayed and revised due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the schedule features nine non-conference games and 18 SEC matchups.

The Wildcats will tip off the season on Nov. 25 against Morehead State at Rupp Arena. League play begins on Dec. 29 at home against South Carolina, while UK will conclude the regular season on March 2 at Ole Miss.

“With all that we’ve been through the last eight months, we are beyond grateful to return to competition and begin the 2020-21 season,” UK head coach John Calipari said in a statement released by the program. “We don’t know exactly how this is all going to play out with the virus, but the health and safety of our players and our staff is going to be at the forefront of everything we do.

“This schedule will serve as a great test for our young team,” Calipari added. “We will have to learn to fail fast. Things will be a bit different in how we do things to stay safe, but we are going to make this as normal of an experience for our players and our fans as we can, and I’m confident what we’ve put together will prepare us to make a run at the end of the season. Like everyone else, I can’t wait to return to competition.”

The non-conference slate includes high-profile matchups with Kansas, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, UCLA, Louisville, and Texas. It will begin with a four-team event at Rupp Arena, the Bluegrass Showcase, in which UK, Morehead State, Detroit Mercy (featuring Brad Calipari), and Richmond will each face each other once from Nov. 25 to Nov. 29 at Rupp Arena.

The Champions Classic, rumored to be moving to Indianapolis, will be played Dec. 1 with the Cats facing Kansas while Duke squares off with Michigan State.

Kentucky travels to Atlanta on Dec. 6 for a Holiday Hoopsgiving matchup with Georgia Tech. Notre Dame visits Rupp Arena on Dec. 12. The Cats will play UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 19 in Cleveland.

The annual Bluegrass State rivalry game between UK and UofL will be played Dec. 26 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

This year's Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup will feature UK against Texas at Rupp Arena on Jan. 30.

In the SEC, Kentucky will play its permanent home-and-away opponents (Florida, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt) twice, along with Alabama and Auburn. The Cats will have one matchup with the other eight league members.