Month: June 2015

Kentucky Returning To Bahamas In 2016 To Play Arizona State

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

#THE University of Kentucky men’s basketball team is slated to play Arizona State University in a regular season game in Nassau on November 28, 2016.

#The game will be played in the 3,800-seat Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, the site of the yearly Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

#The game against the Sun Devils will mark Kentucky’s return to the Bahamas after a successful “Big Blue Bahamas” six-game foreign tour by the Wildcats in the capital last summer.

#“We are thrilled to return to the Bahamas in 2016 to play Arizona State,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. “The Bahamas brings back a lot of good memories for our team. It was there we built the foundation for our unforgettable 2014-15 season. I have a ton of respect for coach Bobby Hurley and believe he’s going to take Arizona State to the next level. A great opponent coupled with a beautiful setting after the holiday weekend should make this an unbelievable trip for our fans.”

#“We look forward to a great matchup with Kentucky in a place where Arizona State has never played next November,” said Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley. “It is important for our programme to play high-level competition early in the season while at the same time gaining exposure for our players. It will be another great learning experience for our team in a place that is becoming popular in the college basketball world with regards to early-season games. The list of teams playing in Atlantis increases every year, and we are glad to be part of it.”

#Kentucky leads the all-time series between the schools 3-0. This season, UK will host ASU on December 12 in Lexington’s Rupp Arena.

#Last season, the Wildcats became the first team in NCAA history to begin a season 38-0 before falling in the NCAA Final Four national semi-final game to Wisconsin.

#Calipari became the third coach in history to take his school to four Final Fours in a five-season span, and the Wildcats head coach will be enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September as a member of the Class of 2015.

#Hurley was named the Sun Devils head coach in April after two seasons at Buffalo, where the Bulls were 42-20, despite playing 29 road games.

#In 2014-15, Hurley led Buffalo to a school-record-tying 23 victories, the Bulls’ first Mid-American Conference title and first NCAA Tournament berth.

#The Sun Devils were 18-16 last season and advanced to the second round of the NIT.

#“Having Kentucky play a regular-season game at the Atlantis, especially against a quality non-conference opponent such as Arizona State, is another tremendous opportunity for the Bahamas to play host to more great college basketball,” said Lea Miller, president of Complete Sports Management.

#“We were proud to bring Kentucky to Nassau for their foreign tour last summer. The quality of the Wildcats’ experience during the tour led them to consider a return to the Bahamas, and we are thrilled to have this game occur in November 2016.”