Milan Momcilovic played three years at Iowa State and likely would've finished his career there in any other era of college basketball. But in this era, there's lots of money to be made. So, in a possible make-or-break season for its third-year coach, Kentucky decided to make a big offer to Momcilovic this past offseason.
Understandably, the 2026 All-Big 12 performer accepted it -- reportedly at the rate of around $6 million. But on Tuesday night, in an 85-57 victory over Manhattan, it sure looked like money well spent. Momcilovic took 12 shots, made eight of them and finished with 24 points and five rebounds in his UK debut.
The 6-foot-9 forward was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in a reminder that he really might be the best shooter in the nation at this level, particularly when considering that Momcilovic shot 48.7% from 3-point range on 7.5 attempts per contest last season while helping Iowa State make what was a second Sweet 16 appearance in a three-year span. "I would like him to take 15 [3-pointers per game], if we can get him there," Kentucky coach Mark Pope said following his third straight season-opening victory with the Wildcats. Can't wait to watch Kentucky try to get Momcilovic there.
A double-digit number of attempts per game, at least, seems like a sensible goal considering, after Tuesday's performance, Momcilovic is now shooting 49.3% from 3-point range in his past 38 contests -- 37 last season at Iowa State, one so far at UK. Kentucky remains No. 20 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Wildcats are one of eight SEC schools in the Top 25 And 1 -- along with No. 1 Florida, No. 6 Texas, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 21 Alabama, No. 23 Missouri and No. 25 Vanderbilt.
No other conference has more than six teams in these rankings.
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