Kentucky wasted little time showing what this new-look roster can do.
In the 2026-27 opener, the Wildcats rolled past Manhattan 85-57, with nine players making their UK debut and several transfers immediately shaping the night. Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic set the tone with 24 points, knocking down 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range.
Washington point guard transfer Zoom Diallo, who had a rough stretch in Kentucky’s three preseason exhibitions, finished with 12 points. Furman transfer Alex Wilkins filled up the box score with 11 points, five assists and seven steals.
The lone returning player to appear in the opener, sophomore center Malachi Moreno, nearly posted a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. He sat for the final 11:28.
Kentucky’s shot-making from deep eventually overwhelmed Manhattan, even if the night started slowly. The Wildcats missed their first four 3-point attempts and later missed their final five after Mark Pope had emptied the bench, but they still finished 12 of 31 from beyond the arc. On the other end, Kentucky limited Manhattan to 7 of 26 shooting from 3-point range.
The game turned when Kentucky was down four with a little more than 12 minutes left in the first half. Wilkins buried the Wildcats’ first 3-pointer of the game, then Justin McBride and Mason Williams followed with triples of their own. That sparked a 13-0 run and a stretch in which Kentucky scored 24 of the next 27 points.
By halftime, the margin had ballooned to 48-22. Kentucky had already made eight 3-pointers and piled up 10 assists on 17 field goals, leaving little doubt about where the opener was headed.
Wilkins may have been the most disruptive player on the floor, even with Momcilovic leading the scoring. He finished one steal shy of the single-game record.
Four UK players have been credited with eight steals in a game, most recently Cason Wallace against Michigan State on Nov. 15, 2022.
The competition gets tougher from here. Manhattan entered the season ranked 316th nationally by KenPom, and No.
23 Kentucky now gets James Madison on Friday before meeting No. 17 Kansas in the Champions Classic in Chicago in one week.
The win also extended a strong opening-day trend for the program. Kentucky is now 103-21 in season openers and has won five in a row. Pope improved to 3-0 in season openers as UK’s coach.
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