Summer is here, which means Kentucky basketball is right around the corner, and Big Blue Nation is starting to get very excited about this season. The addition of Milan Momcilovic has fans fully bought into this roster and believe that Mark Pope’s team can be special this season.
Games are still being added to the non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, and seven were added today. The seven new opponents for the Kentucky Wildcats are Manhattan (November 3rd), James Madison (November 6th), Northern Arizona (November 13th), Grambling State (November 16th), Bryant (December 8th), Sacred Heart (December 22nd), and Gardner-Webb (December 28th).
All of these matchups should be tune-up games for the Wildcats as they get ready for their more challenging non-conference games and the SEC gauntlet. The marquee games in non-conference for Pope and the Wildcats include Kansas (November 10th), Indiana (November 20th), Virginia (December 2nd), Louisville (December 12th), and North Carolina (December 19th).
Advertisement
The Wildcats will no longer face the Gonzaga Bulldogs, so it will be interesting to see what other matchup will be added to the non-conference schedule. Some of these marquee non-conference games are the most fun of the year, as often, fans get to travel, so BBN will be hoping that after getting rid of Gonzaga, Coach Pope will add a good substitute.
The Wildcats will get the season started on November 3rd against Manhattan inside Rupp Arena, as this will mark the beginning of the third season of the Pope era. During the Pope era, his teams have done well against these lesser mid-major opponents, and the hope is that will be the case again this season.
Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with the media during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Last season, the Wildcats had a lot of struggles in non-conference play with losses to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. Kentucky was able to rebound with wins over Indiana and St. John’s, but overall, it was not a good non-conference for Pope’s squad.
Advertisement
This year, fans want to see Kentucky head into the SEC with as few losses as possible, but this is a tough schedule, so Pope will have to win some big-time matchups. As of right now, the only marquee non-conference game for Kentucky that is in Rupp Arena is the Louisville matchup so a lot of these games will be away from home. Kentucky needs to win a lot of non-conference games to head into SEC play with momentum.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook andYouTubefor the latest news.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as Kentucky has announced seven more non-conference opponents for the 2026-27 season.
