Mark Story: For Mark Pope's Wildcats, a promising start. But Kansas will be Kentucky's early measuring stick.

Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader on Nov 5, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was Election Night, and for 6:21 of elapsed playing time, the Kentucky Wildcats showed a Rupp Arena crowd of 19,304 their own version of a “blue wave.”

Sparked by some lovely ball movement, No. 23 UK uncorked a 25-3 first-half run Tuesday that turned an early 13-9 deficit to underdog Manhattan into a 34-16 UK advantage.

It was that stretch that ignited the No. 23 Cats (1-0) to an 85-57 victory over the overmatched Jaspers.

After last season’s 22-14 slog that was compiled mostly without a true point guard, Kentucky coach Mark Pope said the UK program was “desperate” to add offensive creators to the Wildcats’ roster.

During Kentucky’s first-half run, the third-year UK head man said the ball movement “was exactly where we’d like to spend our life. It’s actually beautiful basketball. I was proud of the guys for that little run.”

There was a good bit to like about the Cats in Game 1.

Kentucky finished with 20 assists on 32 made field goals.

The Cats’ movement of the ball got 3-point ace Milan Momcilovic nine shots from behind the arc, and the Iowa State transfer splashed six of them en route to a game-high 24 points.

“When I hit a couple, it’s ‘try not to leave me’ (for defenders),” Momcilovic said. “So, hopefully, it opens up driving lanes for my teammates.”

Beyond Momcilovic, UK displayed offensive balance with six players scoring between seven and 12 points.

Kentucky got an impressive all-around performance from sophomore guard Alex Wilkins. The Furman transfer went for 11 points, two rebounds, five assists and seven steals. In the 25:48 that the 6-foot-6, 170-pound Wilkins was in the game, UK was a robust plus-35 on the scoreboard.

“What I’ve been really impressed with him through the preseason and through tonight was the energy and how committed he is to competing on the defensive end,” Pope said of Wilkins.

The Cats also got a strong contribution off the bench from second-year forward Braydon Hawthorne, who stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in 19 minutes.

“BH, obviously, was really good,” Pope said.

Pope was unhappy that his team, after winning the first half by 26 points, appeared to let down after halftime and won the second half by only two points.

“From the very first day, we talked about a standard here that we’re gonna fight to live up to every day,” Pope said. “I think at the 11-minute mark (of the second half), I think we had three out of four possessions that were turnovers that are pretty careless and not physical enough. ... We cannot waste a possession, and so for us to, like, be cavalier with possessions in the second half is not acceptable here.”

For his part, Manhattan coach John Gallagher endorsed the idea that happy days could be here again for UK in 2026-27.

“I’ve studied them, studied their three preseason games,” Gallagher said. “They have a lot of pieces. They got shooters, and they got size. They’re going to be a handful in SEC play, in my opinion.”

Here’s the thing about season-opening blowouts against teams with inferior talent.

It’s very difficult to gauge what they really mean.

During Pope’s debut season as Kentucky head coach, the Wildcats started their season with a 41-point strafing of Wright State (103-62) and a 28-point drubbing of Bucknell (100-72).

For UK’s third game that season, the No. 19 Cats ventured south to Atlanta and took down No. 6 Duke, 77-72, in The State Farm Champions Classic.

That was the same Cooper Flagg-led Duke that ended its season playing in the 2025 Final Four.

Last year, Pope’s second Kentucky team began its regular season with a 26-point victory over Nicholls (77-51) and a 48-point obliteration of Valparaiso (107-59).

Yet, in that season’s third game, No. 9 UK traveled west across I-64 to take on intrastate rival Louisville and the Wildcats did not look good at all while absorbing a 96-88 road loss to Mikel Brown and the No. 12 Cardinals.

The current Cats will play their second game Friday night against James Madison (0-1). The Dukes lost their season opener Monday to Miami (Ohio) 86-77.

JMU is coached by former Morehead State coach and ex-UK men’s hoops aide Preston Spradlin.

Given Spradlin’s professional track record, one can expect James Madison to be well-coached and to play hard vs. the Cats.

Even so, we are not likely to get a true early-season read on “where Kentucky is” until the Wildcats face Bill Self, freshman phenom Tyran Stokes and No. 17 Kansas (1-0) on Tuesday night at The Champions Classic in Chicago.

Said Pope: “We are a team with a really high ceiling, and we’re not even close to it right now.”

For UK, the first “decision day” that matters will come against KU.

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