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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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No. 23 Kentucky opened the 2026-27 college basketball season with an 85-57 rout of Manhattan at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.
After a sluggish start, the Wildcats took over, closing the first half with a 48-22 lead and shooting 53% from the field and 39% from 3-point range. Newcomer Milan Momcilovic led the way with 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, including 6 of 9 from long range, while Zoom Diallo ended with 12 points, and Alex Wilkins had 11 points and seven steals.
Mark Pope heads into Year 3 with the program under real pressure, with this being arguably his most talented Wildcats roster yet, and fans demanding deeper runs in March. A blowout win on opening night is a great way to start.
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The morning after the opener, Kentucky also landed a commitment from 7-foot-5 center Cherif Millogo, a top prospect in the 2027 class.
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Millogo is a towering 7-foot-5, 250-pound center from Burkina Faso who plays at St. Francis in La Canada Flintridge, California. His legal guardian is former NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute, who previously helped discover NBA stars Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam.
ESPN currently has Millogo ranked as a five-star recruit, the No. 8 overall player in the 2027 class and the No. 2 center. Rivals has him as the No. 11 overall prospect in the country. He chose Kentucky over offers from BYU, USC, Louisville, Arizona, and North Carolina, and he's Pope's highest-ranked recruit at Kentucky. Pope's new assistant Alfred Aboya, who has ties to Mbah a Moute and works as the head coach at NBA Academy Africa, reportedly played a big role in Millogo's commitment.
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Millogo has a massive 7-foot-9 wingspan, can hit threes and mid-range shots, and protect the rim. That's exactly the sort of talent a program can build around, making it a huge recruiting win for Pope, even if he can't play until the 2027-28 season.
As for the Wildcats this season, Kentucky next faces James Madison on Friday and Kansas in the Champions Classic in Chicago on Nov. 10. Later on comes Indiana on Nov. 20, Virginia on Dec. 2, Louisville on Dec. 12, and UNC on Dec. 19.
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