DETROIT (11/6/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team's non-conference schedule is starting to take shape again as the Titans will play in the Bluegrass Showcase like they were originally scheduled.
The event will be a little different than previously announced back in May as all three games will be at Kentucky's legendary Rupp Arena and there is also a switch of opponents in the field with Hartford exiting and Morehead State now among the teams.
The Titans will open the 2020-21 campaign against Richmond on Wednesday, Nov. 25, in a 9 p.m. tip before facing the host Wildcats on Friday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m., in a game that will be on the SEC Network. The event will end with Morehead State on Sunday, Nov. 29, with that scheduled for 4 p.m.
Tickets are also in high demand, but at the moment, they are limited to just Kentucky season ticket holders.
The battle against nationally-ranked Kentucky will feature a couple of dad-son combinations as Titans' head coach
Mike Davis and junior guard
Antoine Davis along with graduate senior
Brad Calipari will face a UK squad coached by Brad's dad, John Calipari.
Davis - a candidate for the Jerry West Award for top shooting guard and a First Team Preseason All-HL selection - led the team in scoring at 24.3 points per game, fourth in the nation. He posted 729 total points, sixth-most in the nation, and his 101 triples on the year was ninth in Division I. He also recorded 52 steals and handed out 4.5 assists per game, while netting 21 games with 20 or more points, six 30-point outings and a season-high and HL-best 43 points in just his second collegiate campaign.
Brad Calipari - who suited up for Kentucky for three years before transferring to Detroit Mercy last year - saw action in 27 games as a Titan, with six starts, and posted 6.1 points, topping the team shooting 38.0 percent from three and finishing second on the squad with 46 triples.
Detroit Mercy has met the Spiders once before with a win back in 1992-93 in a preseason tournament, while the match-up with the Eagles will be the first-ever meeting.
The event is under the direction of the Gazelle Group, a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the Gotham Classic, the Sunshine Slam, and the College Basketball Invitational, as well as the inaugural Holiday Face-Off college hockey tournament. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit www.gazellegroup.com.
Tournament Notes
Titans vs. Kentucky Series
- Tied at 1-1
- Detroit Mercy won at home, 34-26, in 1938 and dropped an 83-46 contest on the road in 1982
- Kentucky was 25-6, 15-3 in the Southeastern Conference last season
Titans vs. Richmond Series
- Detroit Mercy leads 1-0
- The red, white and blue defeated the Spiders 82-70 at Arizona State's Tribune Classic in 1992
- Richmond was 24-7, 14-4 in the Atlantic 10 last season
Titans vs. Morehead State Series
- First career meeting
- The Eagles were 13-19 last season and 7-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference
- The Eagles will have to replace their top two scorers from a season ago
