The time is here BBN! Tonight, the 2026-27 college basketball season begins for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, looking to start off the year right with a win at Rupp Arena!

Pope is entering his third season as head coach, coming off of a 22-win campaign where his team finished in the middle of the conference rankings. This is an important season for the former Wildcat, with fans wanting to see him excel in the position before another talk is had.

He did his part in the offseason, assembling a talented roster that was stout enough to earn No. 23 in the preseason rankings. Multiple players earned honors as we transitioned from summer to fall, building animosity for the superstars on this team.

Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno are the clear-cut leaders, looking to show off what they can do on a basketball court now that they both have had new experiences. There’s so much to talk about with this year’s squad, but it’s best to just watch and see how they perform when the regular season is officially underway and when every win counts.

Let’s take a look at the matchup and key points for tonight.

Shooting From Deep

Kentucky’s identity from last season needed a change, and Pope did his diligence in the summer, bringing in several sharpshooters. This team should be fun to watch, and they certainly won’t hesitate to get some shots up.

We saw flashes from Momcilovic and how good he can be in the preseason, transferring from Iowa State and reigning as the best shooter in college basketball. Others, like freshman Mason Williams and sophomore Alex Wilkins, have been deadly with the ball in their hands, finding their shot early quite well. Osumane N’Diaye and Justin McBride showcased great volume in the exhibition matchups – confidence is always key.

It’s important for this team to create chemistry and find the best open look possible, not force a bad shot just because there’s potential that it can be made. Take the easy shot, continue to move the ball around and trust the unit on the floor.

Giving Effort at All Times

Several times during the exhibition matchups, there was a lack of urgency and/or a lack of hustle, resulting in comebacks and scoring runs for the opponents. Not much to add here, because it’s simple, play the full 40 minutes and don’t give in until the final buzzer sounds.

Many members of the Big Blue Nation want to see their team take care of business without any drama, which would be a nice way to begin the 2026-27 campaign.

Let the Hot Hand Take Over

This team has extreme potential at all areas and enough talent to make two starting lineups, but there’s only one ball. We’ve seen players like Williams and Wilkins call their own shot in the preseason, and it’s important to not interrupt that flow.

Whoever’s shot is falling more tonight should continue to have plays drawn up for them, no matter who it is. It’s important to solidify who can take a game over for you when you need it most, especially on a night when the opponent is of less quality.

Key Players For Manhattan

Guard Ben Tweedy, 6-foot-4, 185 lbs

• Preseason All-Metro Third Team

• Transferred from Colgate

• Averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Manhattan Jaspers

• Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET on November 3, 2026
• Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)
• TV Channel: SEC Network+ will have the coverage for this game
• Announcers: Noah Frary, Jon Hood and Michelle Knezovic will have the call
• Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app
• Radio: Tom Leach and Goose Givens have the UK radio call on the UK Sports Network
• Satellite Radio: 840 WHAS (AM), 630 WLAP (AM), 98.1 WBUL (PM)
• Replay: ESPN+
• Rosters: UK | MAN
• Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky listed as 32.5-point favorites, with a point total for the game set at 158.5. ESPN gives the Wildcats a 99.0% chance to pull off the home win.
• Predictions: Kentucky should have no problem in the first game of the season tonight, serving as insanely heavy favorites. My final score prediction comes out to 92-65 Wildcats, with Zoom Diallo leading the team in both points and assists.

Send us your score predictions down in the comments section!

Kentucky is preparing to begin its 2026-2027 campaign, but with so many new faces joining the squad and more than a few uncertainties following the preseason, fans are debating how far the team can go this March.

Let’s break down what the analytics are saying…

Evanmiya.com ran 10,000 simulations of the college basketball season to determine each team’s floor and ceiling this year.

After the simulations, Kentucky was ranked fifth in the SEC, with a national preseason rank of No. 19. The average finish for the Wildcats in the simulations was 26th in the country, with their ceiling being 6th and their floor being 68th.

Again, these are just simulations, so take it with a grain of salt.

Looking back on Mark Pope’s squad and their exhibition games, this roster seems to have talent and depth, with Mason Williams being one of the unexpected standouts early on. Braydon Hawthorne, Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic have all turned heads as well.

Williams was the second-highest scorer in the Wildcats’ last exhibition game against UCF, where he tallied 18 points on the night and led UK to an overtime win at Rupp Arena.

With Momcilovic being named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team and Moreno being named to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team, it’s evident that the coaches, fans and media admit this roster has the talent necessary to make a deep run.

Both have commented multiples times this offseason on how important chemistry has been when the team was meshing over the offseason, which should give fans hope that the two main stars on this team will lead Kentucky with everything they have.

A 10-8 record for Pope and company in SEC play last year won’t play, so it’s all hands on deck for the search of improvement this season. So BBN, can this squad put the blue and white back on top of the college basketball world?

We will find out soon enough, with Kentucky starting its regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and hosting Manhattan. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.

Kentucky Men’s Basketball has produced plenty of elite shooters over the years, but Milan Momcilovic has the potential to be the best the Big Blue Nation has ever seen.

Momcilovic transferred to Kentucky following his junior year at Iowa State, where he shot 48.7% from three-point range and connected on 136 of them, leading the nation in both regards. Now, he joins a Mark Pope offense that relies heavily on shooting from beyond the arc, giving him an opportunity to put up similar numbers as a Wildcat, if not better.

The current record for threes made in a single season is held by Jodie Meeks, with 117 made during the 2008-09 season. In theory, if Momcilovic were to repeat his numbers from last year, he would surpass the current record by 19.

However, breaking the school’s single-season three-point percentage record could be a tougher task. Cameron Mills currently holds that record, shooting 53.2% from beyond the arc during the 1996-97 season. While Momcilovic’s 48.7% mark from last season was insanely impressive, he would need to be even more efficient this year to surpass Mills.

While it will be a tough task for Momcilovic to break either of these records, he has already proven that he can shoot at an elite level, averaging 16.6 points per game on 45% percent from deep in the team’s three exhibition matchups.

With Pope wanting his team to get up at least 30 threes a game, this will give Momcilovic plenty of opportunity to show off his range. Only time will tell if he can become the best shooter BBN has ever seen, but he will certainly be one of them ones.