Kentucky Basketball vs. Little Rock preview, viewing info, and more

Exhibition season begins for Kentucky Basketball on Friday as the Wildcats take on Little Rock at Rupp Arena. The matchup will offer fans their first look at Mark Pope’s revamped roster ahead of the regular season.

Pope enters his third season as Kentucky’s head coach after experiencing both success and frustration in his first two years. His debut season ended with a Sweet 16 appearance, but the Wildcats struggled to find consistency in Year 2, finishing with an early exit from the SEC Tournament before suffering a blowout loss to Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.

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Now, Kentucky has overhauled much of its roster in hopes of returning to its previous success. The Wildcats added guards Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Mason Williams and Jerone Morton, while bringing in forward Milan Momcilovic alongside returning forwards Braydon Hawthorne and Kam Williams.

Kentucky also returns big man Malachi Moreno while adding Justin McBride, Franck Kepnang and Ousmane N’Diaye to strengthen its frontcourt.

This year’s team could resemble Pope’s first Kentucky squad, with an emphasis on offensive production. However, questions remain about whether the Wildcats can defend and rebound consistently enough to compete at a high level.

Shooting

Kentucky should be a better shooting team than it was last season. The Wildcats struggled to find offensive consistency, and Pope addressed that issue by bringing in several new players who can score and create opportunities for their teammates.

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Diallo and Wilkins should help facilitate the offense, while Momcilovic, one of the team’s biggest transfer additions, brings an impressive perimeter shooting profile after shooting 48.7% from 3-point range last season.

Could Kentucky reach 30 3-point attempts per game this season? The roster has the potential to make that a realistic goal, but Friday’s exhibition should offer an early indication of how the offense will operate.

Not at full strength

Kentucky will be shorthanded against…

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Publish date : 2026-10-14 11:30:00

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