6 biggest upcoming games on Kentucky’s SEC schedule

Former Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks took over as Kentucky women's basketball's head coach this season and the results so far have been impressive. The team won 12 games in each of the past two seasons but has already won 15 games this campaign.

The Wildcats have one of the best offenses in the country, ranking 17th in offensive rating and fifth in 2-point field goal percentage.

But the SEC is a tough conference, so we can't necessarily count on this run to continue. The games are going to get a lot tougher for the Wildcats as the season goes on.

Below are the five biggest games upcoming on Kentucky's schedule.

Jan. 30 - vs Alabama

The Wildcats have been very good to start SEC play, but the team also won't play a ranked team until Jan. 30 against Alabama, the biggest test yet for Kenny Brooks' program.

These two teams are almost perfectly equal on paper. Alabama is 21st in points per game and 53rd in opponent points per game while Kentucky is 22nd in points per game and 54th in opponent points per game.

Can the Wildcats come out on top in this battle of equals?

Feb. 2 - at Oklahoma

Kentucky has played well defensively this season, but can the team slow down an Oklahoma team that is averaging 88.5 points per game, the fourth-most points in the country?

If not, the Wildcats will need lead scorer Georgia Amoore to go off in this one. Oklahoma struggles on the defensive end, ranking just 172nd in opponent points per game, so even if the Wildcats struggle to slow the Sooners down, they'll have a chance.

Kentucky has only had one game so far that could be considered a shootout, which for these purposes I'm defining as a game where the Wildcats scored 80 or more points and won by single digits. That game was against a good Belmont program, but the Bruins are nowhere near the offensive force that the Sooners are.

Feb. 13 - vs Texas

Up until this game, the Wildcats have a relatively easy path to be something like 9-1 in SEC play, but things get difficult in a hurry starting with this contest against Texas.

The Longhorns aren't unstoppable, as shown by their 17-point loss to South Carolina, but when a team's only two losses are to two of the best teams in the nation, that's usually a signal that the team is pretty good.

For example, Texas played that Alabama team that is almost statistically identical to Kentucky. What did the Horns do? Only win by 44 points.

Kentucky will have to figure out some way to slow down Madison Booker, but even if the team can do that, Texas is a deep squad. Rori Harmon is one of the nation's best pure point guards and is a menace on defense. Kyla Oldacre has taken a huge leap forward after not doing much at Miami in the last two years. This is a team that no one wants to face.

Feb 23. - vs LSU

And here we go. Kentucky closes the season with maybe the hardest three-game stretch any team will play this season.

LSU probably won't still be undefeated when these teams meet as the Tigers face South Carolina and Texas before then plus have another meeting with Tennessee, a team LSU beat earlier this month by just two points.

Still, expect LSU to still be near the top of the SEC and to be a tough team to defeat. Notably, the team will have to slow down the trio of Flau'Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams, one of just three trios in the country to all average at least 16 points per game.

Feb. 26 - vs. Tennessee

Tennessee currently has two losses on the season by a combined three points.

It's hard to get a read on how good the Volunteers are because those losses were to the best teams it faced and its best win outside that is against Iowa. Still, having the country's third-best offensive rating suggests that this team is pretty darn good and that this will be a battle for Kentucky.

The fact that it's the easiest game in this three-game stretch to end the season should definitely be concerning for Kentucky fans. Because after this one is over, the Wildcats hit the road to play ...

March 2. - at South Carolina

Ending the season against the SEC's best team and, arguably, the nation's best team is not the way you want to end a season, as it could really stymie any momentum heading into the conference tournament.

South Carolina isn't unbeatable, but the Gamecocks are pretty close to it. Their lone loss this season came to No. 1 ranked UCLA, a weird game where MiLayshia Fulwiley played just three minutes.

Other than that loss to the Bruins, South Carolina is running over its opponents. A six-point win over Michigan was the only win by fewer than 11 points. The team beat Big 12 favorite TCU by 33 and just defeated Texas by 17 in a game where the Gamecocks defense just suffocated the Longhorns.

Kentucky has shown immense improvement this season and could beat anyone on its schedule, but if there's one game that you pencil in ahead of time as a loss, it's this one.

Erasers exist, though, and this Kentucky team and its new direction in 2025 might be capable of pulling that eraser out.