The poll results are in: Here’s a closer look at No. 24 Kentucky.
24. KENTUCKY
2025-26 record: 22-14
Outlook for 2026-27: Between luring college basketball’s purest shooter from Iowa State (Milan Momcilovic), importing a 7-foot power forward with three years of pro experience (Ousmane N’Diaye) and convincing 7-footer Malachi Moreno to stay, third-year coach Mark Pope might have done enough to keep the wolves at bay.
What we like: In Kentucky’s final exhibition, a 90-76 OT win over UCF, Moreno piled up 16 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks. He and Momcilovic will be a terrific combo. Relatively unheralded freshman Mason Williams, son of new assistant Mo Williams, averaged 14.0 points in the exhibitions.
Trouble ahead: Uber-athletic point guard Zoom Diallo, a 2024 McDonald’s All-American, had two decent years at Washington before coming in to run the Big Blue’s show. But he wasn’t exactly magical during the three exhibitions (6.0 ppg, 4.7 apg), which means he’s under the microscope for the foreseeable future.
Top newcomer: Just to clarify Momcilovic’s brilliance as a shooter, he led the nation last year in 3-pointers (136) and 3-point percentage (48.8%). He drilled eight 3-pointers against Arizona, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Alcorn State.