After months of roster building, summer workouts and preseason practices, Kentucky basketball finally gets to play somebody wearing a different uniform Friday night.
Mark Pope's third Kentucky team will take the floor at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center for its first exhibition game of the 2026-27 season when the Wildcats host Little Rock at 7 p.m. ET Friday night.
The final score won't count toward Kentucky's regular-season record, but there will be plenty to learn. The Wildcats have a dramatically different roster, several proven scorers, unusual size across the lineup and one of the best shooters in college basketball. Friday will provide the Big Blue Nation its first real opportunity to see how all of those pieces fit together.
Kentucky finished last season 22-14 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but Pope once again rebuilt a large portion of his roster during the offseason.
Malachi Moreno, Kam Williams, Trent Noah, Braydon Hawthorne and Reece Potter return from last year's squad, but the Wildcats added a collection of experienced transfers that should give Pope considerably more versatility on both ends of the floor.
Pope recently summed up one of the biggest advantages of this roster with a simple phrase: "Length is our strength." That should become obvious Friday night. Kentucky can put multiple 6-foot-6 and taller players on the court without sacrificing ball handling or shooting, while Moreno, Franck Kepnang, Ousmane N'Diaye and Reece Potter give the Cats four players listed at 7 feet or taller.
Kentucky may have landed the most dangerous perimeter shooter in the country when Milan Momcilovic transferred from Iowa State.
Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points per game last season while making 136 three-pointers and connecting on an incredible 48.7 percent from behind the arc. He became the first player to lead the nation in both made three-pointers and three-point percentage in the same season.
The 6-foot-9 senior has already been named Preseason Second-Team All-SEC, and his shooting should change the geometry of Kentucky's offense. Defenders simply cannot leave him, creating driving lanes and cutting opportunities for everyone else.
Watch how Little Rock chooses to defend Momcilovic Friday. If defenders chase him far away from the basket, Kentucky should have enormous amounts of space in the middle of the floor.
| Player | Previous School | 2025-26 Production |
|---|---|---|
| Milan Momcilovic | Iowa State | 16.9 PPG • 48.7% 3PT |
| Alex Wilkins | Furman | 17.8 PPG • 4.7 APG |
| Zoom Diallo | Washington | 15.7 PPG • 4.5 APG |
| Justin McBride | James Madison | 15.3 PPG • 5.6 RPG • 40.0% 3PT |
| Jerone Morton | Washington State | 7.8 PPG • 38.7% 3PT |
| Franck Kepnang | Washington | 6.2 PPG • 6.3 RPG • 2.1 BPG |
Those numbers explain why there is so much intrigue surrounding this team.
Wilkins was Furman's leading scorer and assist man as a freshman. Diallo gives Kentucky a 6-foot-6 playmaking guard who shot nearly 49 percent from the floor. McBride supplies scoring, rebounding and another legitimate three-point threat. Kepnang provides a massive, physical rim protector.
One of the most important developments of Kentucky's season could be the next step from sophomore center Malachi Moreno.
Moreno started 30 games as a freshman and averaged 7.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds. He shot 58.2 percent from the field and blocked 53 shots, an average of nearly 1.5 per game.
He has been selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team. Friday night should give fans their first glimpse at whether Moreno has developed into a more assertive scorer and more physical interior presence.
Little Rock's most recognizable name to Kentucky fans will actually be standing on the sideline.
Travis Ford is beginning his first season as Little Rock's head coach. Long before becoming a veteran Division I coach, Ford played point guard for Kentucky and helped lead the Wildcats to the 1993 Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Southeast Regional during that NCAA Tournament run.
Ford has nearly three decades of head-coaching experience and arrived at Little Rock with a 491-355 career record and seven NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach. His previous stops include Eastern Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oklahoma State and Saint Louis.
So while Little Rock is rebuilding, Kentucky isn't facing an inexperienced coaching staff. Ford knows exactly what Rupp Arena is like, and he will undoubtedly want his first Trojan team to make a strong impression.
Little Rock went 12-20 overall and 9-11 in conference play last season. The Trojans averaged 70.5 points per game while allowing 74.1.
They shot a respectable 44.6 percent overall and 35.6 percent from three, but opponents held a 2.7-rebound-per-game advantage.
Much of that should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Ford has assembled a new roster loaded with transfers as Little Rock also begins its first season in the United Athletic Conference.
The Trojans do have enough size to give Kentucky's frontcourt a useful early test. Their roster includes 6-foot-10 Papa Amadou Kante, a transfer from Pittsburgh; 6-foot-10 Roee Oselka; 6-foot-9 Terrion Burgess; and 6-foot-9 Jamai Felt.
Ford also added a number of experienced guards from the transfer portal, meaning the Trojans should be much different from the team represented by last year's statistics.
Kentucky should have a significant talent advantage. But an exhibition game isn't really about running up the score.
The better questions are whether Kentucky takes care of the basketball, generates open shots, defends with energy, controls the glass and looks comfortable running Pope's offense against an actual opponent.
There will almost certainly be mistakes. There may be awkward lineups. Pope may intentionally put players into situations designed to test them. That's exactly what October exhibitions are supposed to accomplish.
We've spent the offseason talking about transfers, shooting, length, lineup possibilities and what Mark Pope's third Kentucky team might eventually become.
Friday night, we finally get our first real look.
Kentucky basketball is back at Rupp Arena.