Kentucky Opens Regular Season vs Manhattan at Rupp Arena

No. 23 Kentucky begins its regular season on Tuesday night with an exhibition opener against Manhattan at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., starting at 7 p.m. ET and airing exclusively via the digital SEC Network+ platform rather than traditional television or radio affiliates. The Wildcats improved significantly through their three preseason contests, defeating Travis Ford's Little Rock team 69-49, No. 19 Texas Tech 76-65 in a five-player double-figure performance, and Central Florida 90-76 after an overtime victory where Milan Momcilovic led the scoring with 19 points while freshman Mason Williams contributed 18. Head coach Mark Pope praised his team's growth trajectory regarding turnover percentages, assists, offensive rebounding on missed threes, and overall player development throughout the series. Manhattan finished last season with a 12-20 record before losing in the Metro Conference Tournament first round. While predictions for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign vary among analysts such as Andrew Stefaniak and Wyatt Huff regarding conference play records against rivals like Kansas, Virginia, Louisville, Mizzou, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State, Pope's team will seek to avoid double-digit losses while aiming for a strong NCAA Tournament run.