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.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Kentucky Men’s Basketball defeated the UCF Knights in a thrilling overtime matchup, winning 90-76 in the final exhibition of the preseason.

There were a ton of things to take away from this contest – some good and some bad.

Throughout the night, the Wildcats led for a majority of the game, holding a lead for over 39 minutes. Although Kentucky controlled the pace for a majority of the time, sloppy basketball was still being played, ranging from a lack of effort to a lack of execution.

In contrast, the good news is that these games are played to iron out wrinkles and get the squad on the same page for the regular season. Multiple players still shined bright.

Senior forward Milan Momcilovic led the way in the scoring column with 19 points, shooting 7-17 from the field and 3-9 from beyond the arc. Malachi Moreno had a great game all around, finishing with 16 points, eight assists and 14 rebounds.

This was probably his best game as a Wildcat, just two assists away from a triple-double. Had this been a regular-season matchup, Moreno would’ve had a career-high for both rebounds and assists.

Last, but certainly not least, freshman Mason Williams capped off his trio of impressive games with 18 points, splashing in three shots from deep.

Despite these performances, UCF went on multiple double-digit scoring runs to keep themselves in the game, especially when it came down to the wire.

In the first half, Kentucky shot 42% from the field, struggling just a tad from three. The home team seemed to be in complete control, until the Knights went on a 13-4 run in the last three minutes of the half.

The second half was really the same story as the first. The Wildcats got out to a quick start, taking the lead up to 10 at the under-12 media timeout.

Depth was shown throughout the entire night, leading to a 31-14 differential in bench points. Braydon Hawthorne and Williams were two of the notable guys in the rotation, showing promising signs of being insanely huge pieces this season.

Kentucky seemed to be in position to win by double digits, but with under five minutes to go, UCF went on a 7-0 run over a two-minute span, tying the game up at 63. Both squads went back-and-forth in the last few minutes, with Mark Pope and his team ultimately trailing by one with under a minute to play.

With 11 seconds left, Hawthorne was sent to the foul line with a chance to tie the game up, or even take the lead best-case scenario. Unfortunately, he missed both.

The Wildcats elected to foul UCF and send them to the charity stripe on the other side, where it would split a pair and leave the door open for a tie.

With 4.9 seconds remaining, Alex Wilkins took the inbound and went coast-to-coast, tying the game up with a right-handed teardrop floater at the buzzer.

Thankfully, overtime was ALL Momcilovic and the Cats. He started the period off with a three, which instantly put the Rupp Arena crowd to its feet.

Extra basketball at Rupp Arena was never close, with Kentucky outscoring the Knights 19-5 in just five minutes of game time. Overall, this was a great chance for a new team to get real-game experience together in crunch-time situations.

After the game, Mark Pope said the same.

“Couldn’t have asked for a better week-six challenge… we got to face some adversity and be in pressure situations.”

Moreno was asked about playing in a game like this, and the overall effect it could have on the team come time for the regular season. He responded, “It just shows our next-play mentality, we preach that every day.”

Yes BBN, we know this game was rough at times, but there is no need to overreact. These exhibition matchups are learning opportunities.

The regular season OFFICIALLY begins on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with the Wildcats hosting Manhattan. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.