Kentucky Opens for Real Tonight: No. 23 Wildcats Host Manhattan at Rupp (7 PM ET, SECN+)

The exhibitions are over. No. 23 Kentucky opens Mark Pope's third season tonight against Manhattan at Rupp Arena, tip at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. It's the first-ever meeting between the programs, and the first of two games this week, with James Madison up next.

WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
Stream: SEC Network+ on the ESPN app, 7 p.m. ET (Noah Frary, Jon Hood, Michelle Knezovic). Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Goose Givens (840 WHAS, 630 WLAP, 98.1 WBUL, SiriusXM 229). Venue: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, Lexington. Follow along on BigBlueTimes.com.

HOW KENTUCKY GOT HERE
UK went unbeaten through three exhibitions, beating Little Rock, No. 19 Texas Tech and then UCF in overtime last Wednesday after Alex Wilkins' tying runner at the end of regulation (UK Athletics). Milan Momcilovic led the team in scoring through the exhibitions, and Malachi Moreno put up 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists against UCF. The Cats won 22 games last season and start this one ranked for the 18th straight year (AP).

WHO MANHATTAN IS
The Jaspers won just 12 games last season, only three of them on the road, and were picked 10th in the Metro Conference. Coach John Gallagher is in his fourth year. Only six players are back from last year's roster (On3). The name to know is junior guard Ben Tweedy, a preseason All-Metro third-team pick who started all 33 games at Colgate last season, averaging 9.4 points and hitting 38.5% from three (AP, On3).

INJURY WATCH
Kam Williams will not play. Pope moved him to day-to-day last week but said, "I don't expect to see him touch the floor on Tuesday, that's for sure," adding the staff wants "every light to be green" before he returns from his second foot surgery (KSR, Kentucky Wildcats On SI).

KEYS FOR KENTUCKY
1. Start fast. UCF hung around all night and forced overtime. Against a team KenPom ranks No. 318, Kentucky should put this away early.
2. Feed the M&Ms. Momcilovic and Moreno are the engine, and the size gap inside should be huge.
3. Clean guard play. Zoom Diallo and Wilkins running the offense without loose turnovers matters more than the final margin.

The number: KenPom gives Kentucky a 99.5% win probability, and the early line had UK favored by more than 30 points (On3).

Our Take: Nobody will remember the score of this one, but people will notice how it looks. After the UCF scare, a sharp 40 minutes and a deep rotation would be the right way to start a season with a lot of expectations on it.

Sources: ESPN game page, AP preview, On3: Kentucky vs. Manhattan preview, odds and how to watch, On3: Kentucky opens as overwhelming favorite, KSR/On3: Kam Williams not expected to play in opener, UK Athletics: UCF recap