Kentucky's trip to NYC for the Champions Classic will be a homecoming for Mo Dioubate

Kentucky’s trip to New York City to play Michigan State in the Champions Classic holds special meaning for one Wildcat. Tuesday marks Mo Dioubate‘s first college game in the city, his home. The junior from Queens has lobbied for a game in New York throughout his college career — and got close last season when Alabama played Duke in the Elite Eight in Newark, NJ — but on Tuesday night, he’ll take the floor at Madison Square Garden, a moment a long time in the making.

“It’s my first time playing in New York in my college career; I have no choice but to be excited,” Dioubate told KSR this summer. “I have a lot of people who have been waiting on me to come back home so they could watch me, my fans, family, supporters, who weren’t able to make it to Tuscaloosa to watch any of the games, they have the opportunity to watch me now. The people who have been watching me since I was a kid, you know, that’s all they asked me for, was just to watch me play.” 

Dioubate is expecting a big group of friends and family at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. When asked, he said he’d probably need around 30 tickets to accommodate his cheering section. He grew up a Los Angeles Lakers fan, not a New York Knicks fan, but playing in the Garden, the World’s Most Famous Arena, transcends team allegiance.

“It’s at the Garden,” Dioubate said after Kentucky’s win over Eastern Illinois Friday night. “That’s every kid’s dream, to play at the Garden, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Dioubate recorded his first double-double as a Wildcat vs. Eastern Illinois, finishing with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes. It was the seventh double-double of his career. He is so excited to get back to New York that he’s got a countdown clock on his Instagram story:

Tuesday will also be a homecoming for Otega Oweh, who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and Mark Pope, who spent part of his childhood in nearby Westchester County and lived in the city while he played for the Knicks and attended Columbia Medical School. It’s also where Pope met and fell in love with his wife, Lee Anne, who was working as a personal assistant to David Letterman. Oweh and the Popes got to return to the city as Wildcats for the first time last year when Kentucky played Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic, an 85-65 loss. Dioubate will do everything it takes to make sure his first game at home in Kentucky blue has a different result.

“I can’t wait for it, man. Y’all better be there, man, tune in. It’s gonna be a movie that day, for sure.”

To learn more about Mo Dioubate’s upbringing in Queens and his journey to Kentucky, which came with an assist from fellow Queens native and Wildcat Hamidou Diallo, check out this feature story from last month.

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Kentucky’s history in NYC

Kentucky has lost its last three games in Madison Square Garden; however, the Cats’ most recent win in the famous building was actually against Michigan State in the 2019 Champions Classic. Kentucky is 14-7 in Madison Square Garden and 38-17 in the New York metro area.

The Cats are 6-8 in the Champions Classic, 2-2 against the Spartans. The last matchup against Tom Izzo’s squad was in Indianapolis in 2022, which Michigan State won 86-77 in double overtime. That was the third of four-straight losses for the Cats in the event, a streak that snapped last year with the 77-72 win over Duke in Atlanta.

Kentucky in the New York metro area

Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Event
12/21/2024	Ohio State	L (85-65)	Madison Square Garden	CBS Sports Classic
12/17/2022	UCLA	L (65-53)	Madison Square Garden	CBS Sports Classic
11/9/2021	Duke	L (79-71)	Madison Square Garden	Champions Classic
11/5/2019	Michigan State	W (69-62)	Madison Square Garden	Champions Classic
12/8/2018	Seton Hall	L (84-83 OT)	Madison Square Garden	Citi Hoops Classic
12/9/2017	Monmouth	W (93-75)	Madison Square Garden	Citi Hoops Classic
12/11/2016	Hofstra	W (96-73)	Barclays Center	Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival
11/15/2016	Michigan State	W (69-48)	Madison Square Garden	Champions Classic
12/19/2015	Ohio State	L (74-67)	Barclays Center	CBS Sports Classic
12/1/2013	Providence	W (79-65)	Barclays Center
11/9/2012	Maryland	W (72-69)	Barclays Center	Barclays Center Classic
11/15/2011	Kansas	W (75-65)	Madison Square Garden	Champions Classic
3/27/2011	North Carolina	W (76-69)	Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)	NCAA East Regional Finals
3/25/2011	Ohio State	W (62-60)	Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)	NCAA East Regional Semifinals
12/9/2009	Connecticut	W (64-61)	Madison Square Garden	SEC/Big East Invitational