Kentucky Wildcats' non-conference basketball schedule released

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The Kentucky Wildcats are going to have a hectic 2026-27 season, and their schedule, at least for their non-conference opponents, is now finalized. The Cats will be facing Kansas, Indiana, and Virginia early on in the season, with Louisville and North Carolina coming in December. All five of those games should present unique challenges for the team.

There are a ton of buy games as well, including against Manhattan, Grambling State, and Northern Arizona. Thankfully, Mark Pope and company also were able to put on the schedule a few difficult exhibition games, facing UCF and Texas Tech at home in October prior to the commencement of the regular season.

That said, three of the five major battles listed above are going to be on a neutral court and one of them is going to be away. Below you can see the full schedule. This season, the Cardinals will be coming to Lexington, so that will undoubtedly be an exciting battle.

This is going to be the most-talented roster that Pope has had, so the expectations will be pretty high in Lexington. With Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno, the Cats are going to have playmaking in the post and elite shooting on the outside. Those were a few late names added to the roster, having already rounded out their backcourt with Alex Wilkins and Zoom Diallo, two major scoring threats. The addition of Missouri transfer forward Mark Mitchell, if he can sustain his eligibility through the onslaught of court battles, will be another huge weapon.

With depth and high-end talent, Pope is going to have to figure out how to make this team gel, especially with limited returning players. It's now or never for Pope, and hopefully these non-conference games can give the team the boost is needs heading into SEC play.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky Wildcats' non-conference basketball schedule released

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