The CBS Sports Classic is an annual American men's college basketball event that began in 2014.
Four teams take part annually in the event. From the inception of the classic through 2024, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, and UCLA each participated. Each team played one game each year (except for 2021 due to Covid cancellations), with the four teams completing a double-header. [1] Both games are annually broadcast on U.S. television on CBS, the Classic's namesake.
On July 21, 2022, the CBS Sports Classic was renewed through 2026. [2]
For the 2024–25 season, CBS Sports launched the CBS Sports Classic: HBCU Showcase featuring North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Hampton and Howard. [3]
In 2025, UCLA pulled out of the Classic due to travel concerns. They were replaced by St. John's. [4]
Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 20, 2014 | United Center (Chicago, Illinois) | No. 24 North Carolina | 82 | No. 12 Ohio State | 74 | 19,726 |
No. 1 Kentucky | 83 | UCLA | 44 | |||
December 19, 2015 | Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York City, New York) | No. 11 North Carolina | 89 | No. 22 UCLA | 76 | 16,311 [5] |
Ohio State | 74 | No. 4 Kentucky | 67 | |||
December 17, 2016 | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) | No. 2 UCLA | 86 | Ohio State | 73 | 19,298 |
No. 6 Kentucky | 103 | No. 7 North Carolina | 100 | |||
December 23, 2017 | Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Louisiana) | No. 5 North Carolina | 86 | Ohio State | 72 | 8,119 |
UCLA | 83 | No. 7 Kentucky | 75 | |||
December 22, 2018 | United Center (Chicago, Illinois) | No. 15 Ohio State | 80 | UCLA | 66 | 19,726 |
No. 19 Kentucky | 80 | No. 9 North Carolina | 72 | |||
December 21, 2019 | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) [6] | North Carolina | 74 | UCLA | 64 | 12,740 |
No. 5 Ohio State | 71 | No. 6 Kentucky | 65 | |||
December 19, 2020 | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland, Ohio) [7] | No. 22 North Carolina | 75 | Kentucky | 63 | 0 a |
No. 20 Ohio State | 77 | UCLA | 70 | |||
December 18, 2021 | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) | North Carolina | No. 4 UCLA | Canceled b | ||
No. 15 Ohio State | No. 21 Kentucky | Canceled c | ||||
No. 21 Kentucky | 98 | North Carolina | 69 | 12,117 d | ||
December 17, 2022 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) [8] | North Carolina | 89 | No. 23 Ohio State | 84 | 20,261 |
No. 16 UCLA | 63 | No. 13 Kentucky | 53 | |||
December 16, 2023 | State Farm Arena | Ohio State | 67 | UCLA | 60 | 17,058 |
No. 14 Kentucky | 87 | No. 9 North Carolina | 83 | |||
December 21, 2024 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) | Ohio State | 85 | No. 4 Kentucky | 65 | 19,812 |
North Carolina | 76 | No. 18 UCLA | 74 | |||
December 28, 2024 | Corbett Sports Center (Greensboro, NC) | North Carolina A&T | 85 | North Carolina Central | 72 | 4,011 |
Hampton Convocation Center (Hampton, VA) | Hampton | 83 | Howard | 67 | 4,213 | |
December 20, 2025 | State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA) [9] | |||||
Date | Location | Match-ups | |
---|---|---|---|
2025 | State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA) [9] | ||
Kentucky vs. Saint John's | Ohio State vs. North Carolina | ||
2026 | TBD | ||
Kentucky vs. North Carolina | UCLA vs. Ohio State |
Kentucky | North Carolina | Ohio State | UCLA | |
---|---|---|---|---|
vs. Kentucky | – | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
vs. North Carolina | 4–1 | – | 0–3 | 0–3 |
vs. Ohio State | 0–3 | 3–0 | – | 1–3 |
vs. UCLA | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | – |
Total | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–4 | 3–7 |
Percentage | .455 | .636 | .600 | .300 |