Milan Momcilovic Hits Six 3s in Kentucky Debut as No. 23 Wildcats Rout Manhattan 85-57

Milan Momcilovic waited a long time to put on Kentucky blue for a game that counted, and it took him about one half to remind Rupp Arena why Mark Pope chased him so hard. The Iowa State transfer scored 24 points, hit 6 of 9 from 3 to tie a school debut record, and No. 23 Kentucky buried Manhattan 85-57 on Tuesday night in front of 19,304 fans.

The final margin undersells how lopsided this got. Kentucky trailed by four early, then outscored the Jaspers 41-10 over the final 13 minutes of the first half and took a 48-22 lead into the locker room. Alex Wilkins added seven steals, the most ever by a Wildcat in a debut, and Pope's third Kentucky team opened the season the way his first two did: with a comfortable win.

A Slow Start, Then a Bench Avalanche

For the first several minutes, Manhattan looked like it had come to Lexington to make some noise. Ousmane N'Diaye scored the season's first basket on a tip-in, but the Jaspers answered with six straight points and led 9-4 and later 13-9. Kentucky's new pieces looked like what they were, a group still learning where everybody wants the ball.

Then Pope went to his bench, and the game changed in a hurry. Mason Williams was the first sub off the bench, and the reserves helped spark a 13-0 run that featured three straight 3s, from Wilkins, Justin McBride and Williams. A 13-9 deficit became a 22-13 lead, and the Jaspers never got close again.

That run was the start of something bigger. Kentucky went on a 32-6 burst that pushed the lead to 41-19, and during one stretch the Wildcats made seven straight field goals, five of them from deep. By the 8:18 mark of the first half, all nine Kentucky players who had checked in had scored. The lead peaked at 26 in the half, at 46-20, before settling at 48-22.

The Turning Point: Momcilovic Finds His Range

If the bench lit the match, Momcilovic poured the gasoline. He had 11 points by halftime, including three of the seven 3s Kentucky made during the decisive first-half stretch, and Manhattan never found a way to slow him down.

This is what Kentucky was paying for when it landed one of the top players in the transfer portal. Momcilovic led the country in 3-point percentage at Iowa State at 48.7 percent, and he once dropped 20 on the Wildcats in an NCAA Tournament game. On Tuesday, he went 8 of 12 from the field and 6 of 9 from deep in 29 minutes, adding five rebounds. The six 3s tied Antonio Reeves for the most by a Wildcat in a season opener and the most by a player in his Kentucky debut.

Manhattan coach John Gallagher had a front-row view and came away impressed. Gallagher said Momcilovic has "probably the quickest release I've seen in three or four years," which is about as high a compliment as a shooter gets from an opposing coach.

Pope, for his part, was not surprised. "It was great to see Milan make shots; I think we are going to see that every single night all season," Pope said.

Wilkins Turns Into a Pickpocket

Momcilovic will get the headlines, but Wilkins might have been the most fun player on the floor. The guard finished with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting, five assists and seven steals in his first game at Kentucky. Nobody in program history had more steals in a debut, and the total was one shy of the school's single-game record of eight.

Seven steals means a guard is reading passes before they happen, and Wilkins kept doing it. Gallagher was blunt about what he saw. "I think he could be a real defensive menace in the SEC," Gallagher said.

Pope liked it too, saying of Wilkins, "I think he has a massive upside in every side of his game."

Zoom Diallo added 12 points in his own Kentucky debut, going 4 of 7 from the field, though he also had four of Kentucky's 14 turnovers. Malachi Moreno did the dirty work with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Length, Depth and a Defensive Identity

Kentucky's numbers were strong across the board. The Wildcats shot 53.3 percent from the field (32 of 60), 38.7 percent from 3 (12 of 31) and 9 of 11 at the line. The 12 made 3s were the most for Kentucky in a season opener since Nov. 12, 2010. Kentucky also won the glass 40-26 and dished out 20 assists on 32 made baskets, a sign that the ball was moving the way Pope wants it to.

The bench was a big part of that. Kentucky's reserves scored 26 points. Franck Kepnang went 3 of 3 for eight points in 13 minutes, Braydon Hawthorne had eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks, and Williams added seven points and five assists.

Pope has talked about defense being this team's calling card, and he leaned into it after the game. "Length is going to be our strength," he said, adding that the team will rely on it. Manhattan shot 35.2 percent (19 of 54) and went 7 of 26 from 3. The Jaspers also turned it over 13 times.

The second half was a different story, if a less important one. Pope sent his starters back out to open it, Kentucky pushed the lead to 57-24, and the margin eventually peaked at 39 (83-44) with about five minutes left. Still, Kentucky won the second half only 37-35. Manhattan scored more in those 20 minutes than it had in the first half, and Pope will want a full 40 minutes of that first-half defense once SEC play arrives.

There were a few rough edges. Kentucky committed 14 turnovers of its own, N'Diaye went 2 of 7 from the field, and McBride hit only one of his five 3-point tries. But those are the kind of nitpicks a coach welcomes after a 28-point win.

Manhattan's Bright Spots

The Jaspers had little to celebrate, but they did get something from a couple of players. Novak Manojlovic scored 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting, and Kevin Kearney added 11 off the bench, going 5 of 6 at the free throw line. Ben Tweedy chipped in nine points and three assists. Manhattan's reserves actually outscored Kentucky's bench 27-26, but the Jaspers' starters could not keep pace with the Wildcats' size and shooting.

Manhattan also went just 12 of 23 at the free throw line, leaving 11 points out there on a night when it needed every one.

What It Means

Kentucky has now won five straight season openers, and Pope has won nine straight openers going back to Utah Valley and BYU. He is just the second Kentucky coach, after Adolph Rupp, to win each of his first three openers by at least 26 points. Under Pope, the Wildcats are 18-0 when they hold an opponent to 66 or fewer.

More important than any of that: the transfer additions look like they fit. Momcilovic gives Kentucky an elite shooter who bends defenses. Wilkins and Diallo bring speed and pressure at the guard spots. And the depth, with 11 players getting minutes, gives Pope plenty of ways to mix and match. The program also kept its momentum off the floor a day later, when top-10 senior Cherif Millogo committed to Kentucky.

Kentucky hosts James Madison on Friday, Nov. 6, at Rupp Arena. Manhattan hosts Albany the same night.

For the full numbers, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and Kentucky's game recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN, UK Athletics, Associated Press. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

One game against Manhattan does not make Kentucky a contender. But if Momcilovic shoots like this and Wilkins defends like this, the No. 23 ranking is going to look awfully low by January.

Photo: Chet White/UK Athletics.