No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats will open the 2026-27 season against the Manhattan Jaspers on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena, Lexington. The Wildcats, coming off a 22-14 campaign and a second-round NCAA Tournament exit, aim to improve under third-year coach Mark Pope, who has posted 10-8 SEC records in each of his first two seasons.
Kentucky added star transfer Milan Momcilovic from Iowa State and returns 7-foot center Malachi Moreno, a defensive anchor. Manhattan finished 12-20 last season and is projected to finish 10th in the newly renamed Metro Conference. This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
Odds and Predictions
Kentucky enters as a 33.5-point favorite with an over/under of 158.5 points. The money line lists Kentucky at -100000 and Manhattan at +8000. The SportsLine Projection Model, which has simulated 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 hits in nearly 70% of simulations.
The game will be streamed on Fubo.
