Kentucky MBB announces seven non-conference matchups for 2026-27 season

Kentucky men’s basketball’s schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 season is slowly coming together.

On Monday morning, UK announced seven non-conference matchups that will be held at Rupp Arena this fall/winter. The season will officially begin with Kentucky’s first-ever matchup against Manhattan on November 3. Four of the announced games will take place in November, with the other three set for December.

• Nov. 3 vs. Manhattan
• Nov. 6 vs. James Madison
• Nov. 13 vs. Northern Arizona
• Nov. 16 vs. Grambling State
• Dec. 8 vs. Bryant
• Dec. 22 vs. Sacred Heart
• Dec. 28 vs. Gardner-Webb

Along with Manhattan, Kentucky has also never played James Madison, Northern Arizona, Grambling State, Bryant, and Sacred Heart. The matchup with Gardner-Webb will be just the Wildcats’ second-ever, the first infamously coming in 2007 when Billy Gillispie‘s squad lost 84-68 — a revenge game 19 years in the making.

James Madison is now led by third-year head coach Preston Spradlin, who was a part of Kentucky’s staff from 2009-2014 before taking over as Morehead State’s head coach from 2016-24. UK hosted Spradlin’s Eagles to open the 2020-21 season, a game that Kentucky won handily, 81-45. On top of that, James Madison is also the former school of new transfer forward Justin McBride, who made the All-Sun Belt Third Team in 2025-26.

Update your calendars, #BBN.

📰🔗 https://t.co/6waDrYpJBc pic.twitter.com/ZSWIJWa2Pp

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 15, 2026

These seven non-conference games join a group of five other previously announced non-conference games for the Wildcats.

• Nov. 10 vs. Kansas (Champions Classic in Chicago)
• Nov. 20 @ Indiana (Indianapolis)
• Dec. 2 @ Virginia (ACC/SEC Challenge)
• Dec. 12 vs. Louisville
• Dec. 19 vs. North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic in New York)

TV assignments and tipoff times for these non-conference games (outside of North Carolina, which is set for 2:30 p.m. ET) will all be released at a future time. UK now officially has 12 non-conference games scheduled, leaving two more games to add prior to the 18-game SEC slate.