We've got a tip time for Kentucky vs. St. John's in the CBS Sports Classic

kentucky-st-johns-cbs-sports-classic-tip-time-tickets-mark-pope-rick-pitino — Mark Pope and Rick Pitino - © Steve Roberts & © Eric Canha | Imagn Images

Get out your calendars, BBN. Game times for the CBS Sports Classic just dropped, and Kentucky vs. St. John’s drew the early slot for the December 20 showdown in Atlanta.

Mark Pope’s Cats and Rick Pitino’s Red Storm will square off at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena. North Carolina vs. Ohio State will follow at 3:00 p.m. Both games will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. We’re never mad at an early tipoff time here at KSR, but that does put Kentucky vs. St. John’s up against the first College Football Playoff game of the day. I have a feeling all of the TVs in the Bluegrass will be tuned in to see Pope vs. Pitino.

Kentucky and St. John’s are both preseason top ten teams, coming in at No. 7 and No. 8 in the Field of 68’s preseason rankings, thanks in large part to impressive transfer portal classes. Pitino added Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Joson Sanon (Arizona State), Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati), and Bryce Hopkins (Providence), who started his college career at Kentucky, to a St. John’s roster that won the Big East regular-season and tournament championships last season. Pitino has said that this St. John’s squad is second only to the 1996 Kentucky team in terms of talent and chemistry, which is fitting considering the game takes place on the 30th anniversary of that national championship season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the denim throwback jerseys make their debut in Atlanta.

Pope, of course, was the captain of that 1996 squad. This will be the second matchup between Pope and Pitino as coaches, the first taking place when Pope was at Utah State and Pitino at Louisville in 2015. The emotions will be even more intense now that Pope is in Pitino’s old spot at Kentucky.

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“I think it’s no different than coaching against your son,” Pitino said on a podcast with John Rothstein this summer. “Obviously, it stirs different emotions. I think anytime you play Kentucky, what I’ve always called the Roman Empire of college basketball, you know you’re going to go against great talent. Certainly, Mark Pope is one of the bright young coaches in the game, and really has a great offensive mind, but it’ll be great to play against the University of Kentucky. I’m really looking forward to the game.”

Pope’s already got his suit ready:

Your move @RealPitino pic.twitter.com/5g59JEBABa
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) August 15, 2025

Tickets go on sale Thursday

Want to secure your seat for Kentucky vs. St. John’s in the CBS Sports Classic? Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday at 11 a.m., but you can register for a 24-hour presale that will begin on Wednesday at 11 a.m. by visiting cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Knowing how many people plan to attend this game, I recommend going ahead and doing so.

Kentucky Basketball’s 2025-26 Schedule

Date (Day)	Opponent	Location
Oct. 11, 2025 (Sat)	Big Blue Madness (exhibition)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Oct. 24, 2025 (Fri)	Purdue (exhibition)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Oct. 30, 2025 (Thu)	Georgetown (exhibition)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Nov. 4, 2025 (Tue)	Nicholls (BBN United Tipoff Classic)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Nov. 7, 2025 (Fri)	Valparaiso (BBN United Tipoff Classic)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Nov. 11, 2025 (Tue)	at Louisville	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
Nov. 14, 2025 (Fri)	Eastern Illinois (BBN United Tipoff Classic)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Nov. 18, 2025 (Tue)	vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic)	Madison Square Garden (New York)
Nov. 21, 2025 (Fri)	Loyola (Md.)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Nov. 26, 2025 (Wed)	Tennessee Tech	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Dec. 2, 2025 (Tue)	North Carolina (ACC/SEC Challenge)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Dec. 5, 2025 (Fri)	vs. Gonzaga	Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.)
Dec. 9, 2025 (Tue)	North Carolina Central	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Dec. 13, 2025 (Sat)	Indiana	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Dec. 20, 2025 (Sat): 12:30 PM ET	vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic)	State Farm Arena (Atlanta)
Dec. 23, 2025 (Tue)	Bellarmine	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Jan. 3, 2026 (Sat)	at Alabama (SEC)	Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Jan. 6/7, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	Missouri (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Jan. 10, 2026 (Sat)	Mississippi State (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Jan. 13/14, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	at LSU (SEC)	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
Jan. 17, 2026 (Sat)	at Tennessee (SEC)	Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Jan. 20/21, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	Texas (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Jan. 24, 2026 (Sat)	Ole Miss (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Jan. 27/28, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	at Vanderbilt (SEC)	Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, Tenn.)
Jan. 31, 2026 (Sat)	at Arkansas (SEC)	Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Feb. 3, 2026 (Tue)	Oklahoma (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Feb. 7, 2026 (Sat)	Tennessee (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Feb. 14, 2026 (Sat)	at Florida (SEC)	Exactech Arena (Gainesville, Fla.)
Feb. 17/18, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	Georgia (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Feb. 21, 2026 (Sat)	at Auburn (SEC)	Neville Arena (Auburn, Ala.)
Feb. 24/25, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	at South Carolina (SEC)	Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
Feb. 28, 2026 (Sat)	Vanderbilt (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Mar. 3/4, 2026 (Tue/Wed)	at Texas A&M (SEC)	Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
Mar. 7, 2026 (Sat)	Florida (SEC)	Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center