No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats open the 2026-27 season against the Manhattan Jaspers on Tuesday, November 3, at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Wildcats, coming off a 22-14 campaign and a second-round NCAA Tournament exit, are 33.5-point favorites with an over/under of 158.5 points. Kentucky coach Mark Pope enters his third season after back-to-back 10-8 SEC records and has added star transfer Milan Momcilovic from Iowa State, while returning 7-foot center Malachi Moreno. Manhattan finished 12-20 last season and is projected to finish 10th in the Metro Conference.
A projection model simulating the game 10,000 times leans toward the under on the total, projecting 157 points with the under hitting in 56% of simulations. The model also indicates one side of the spread covers in nearly 70% of simulations. The money line lists Kentucky at -100000 and Manhattan at +8000. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
