LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky men's basketball program will travel to Virginia on Dec. 2 as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, the leagues announced on June 5. A TV designation and tip time will be announced at a later date.

The matchup at John Paul Jones Arena marks the first time the programs will meet on the court since the 2002-03 season at the Maui Invitational, when Virginia snapped a six-game winning streak by the Wildcats with a 75-61 win. Kentucky has not played in Charlottesville since the 1965-66 season.

Kentucky leads the all-time series with the Cavaliers 6-3. The Wildcats have faced a different Atlantic Coast Conference program in each of the challenge's four years, having previously hosted Miami, traveled to Clemson, and hosted North Carolina.

Virginia is coming off a successful debut season under first-year head coach Ryan Odom. The Cavaliers finished 30-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament after advancing to the ACC Tournament championship game. Thijs De Ridder, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, returns to headline Virginia's roster, having averaged a team-high 15.6 points per game and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game.

Odom's 30 victories this year mark the most wins in program history for a first-year head coach, surpassing the previous record set by Jeff Jones in the 1990-91 campaign. Odom, who became the 13th head coach in the program's history, spent two seasons at VCU from 2023-25, leading the Rams to a 52-21 record and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

With the road matchup against Virginia, Kentucky is now set to take on three ACC opponents in 2026-27, also hosting Louisville on Dec. 12 and playing North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 19 in New York.