Virginia could be one of the toughest matchups on Kentucky's schedule in 2026-27

Kentucky’s matchup in next season’s ACC/SEC Challenge will be anything but an easy win.

The Wildcats will head to Charlottesville for the 2026-27 edition of the annual conference vs. conference event. Standing in Kentucky’s path will be the Virginia Cavaliers, a team that will likely begin the season ranked higher than Mark Pope‘s squad. While Kentucky is projected to be ranked in the 16-23 range following the addition of Milan Momcilovic, Virginia has long been considered a top-15 group.

Below are a handful of notable preseason rankings for Virginia from major outlets. A few even have the Cavaliers as a top 10 team.

• FanDuel (Jon Rothstein): No. 9
• ESPN (Jeff Borzello): No. 14
• The Field of 68 (Rob Dauster): No. 9
• CBS Sports (Gary Parrish): No. 10
• The Athletic (CJ Moore): No. 13
• Sports Illustrated (Kevin Sweeney): No. 16
• BartTorvik: No. 8

Virginia is coming off a terrific season in 2025-26 under first-year head coach Ryan Odom. The Cavaliers went 15-17 in 2024-25 with interim head coach Ron Sanchez, who replaced the legendary Tony Bennett, but struck gold by hiring Odom full-time. Odom led UVA to a 30-6 record last season, including a second-place finish in the ACC at 15-3 and a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

But expectations are even higher going into Odom’s second season. Why? He brings back most of his key players and top scorers from last season, headlined by 6-foot-9 forward Thijs De Ridder, a potential All-American candidate as a sophomore. The Cavaliers will not be short on talent.

“Virginia brings back four of its top six scorers from a team that won 30 games and earned a 3-seed in the NCAA tournament: Thijs De Ridder, Sam Lewis, Chance Mallory and Johann Grunloh,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, who has Virginia ranked No. 14 in his preseason poll, wrote. “Ryan Odom added to that core quartet by going into the transfer portal and landing Jurian Dixon (UC Irvine), Christian Harmon (Arkansas State) and Kalu Anya (Saint Louis). Dixon and Harmon both provide shooting, with the former making 38.5% of his attempts and the latter shooting nearly eight 3s per game. Anya will provide depth in the frontcourt.”

Even before the ACC/SEC Challenge matchups were announced, Kentucky’s non-conference schedule already featured a few teams projected to begin the season in the Top 25. Going off ESPN’s poll, Louisville (No. 13), Kansas (No. 23), North Carolina (No. 25), and Indiana (Next Five) are big-time matchups for the Wildcats, not to mention the in-conference schedule. Including UK, eight SEC teams make up ESPN’s preseason Top 25, headlined by top-ranked Florida.