After an exciting win in an exhibition game vs #1-ranked Purdue and a shaky loss against Georgetown, the regular season has begun for the Kentucky Wildcats and the “greatest tradition in college basketball.” After loading up on transfers for Mark Pope’s first season as head coach last year, this year he went with the same approach. The only difference this year was that an estimated $22 million was spent to secure the best transfers and high school prospects, giving Kentucky the best chance of winning the national championship.
Before the season started, Kentucky was ranked #9 in the country, which Kentucky fans took as a nod to the “assignment” to win championship #9. Being ranked this high meant that Kentucky had brought in great talent, including Jaland Lowe, a transfer from Pitt who averaged almost 17 points per game last year, along with stellar passing and defensive ability. He also recruited Denzel Aberdeen from Florida, Jayden Quaintence, who committed to Kentucky previously under coach Calipari but decommitted after he left, “Mo” Dioubate from Alabama, Kam Williams from Tulane, and Andrija Jelavić, who played pro in Croatia. Mark Pope also recruited heavily from Kentucky, getting Malachi Moreno from Great Crossing, who won the state championship last year, and Woodford’s own Jasper Johnson, who led Woodford to the final four 2 years ago before transferring to basketball academies that would get him highly recruited.
This year’s non-conference schedule includes some top-tier matchups and other matchups that should end up in Kentucky blowouts. However, from a UK fan and not an expert, here is a prediction of how the first half of the season will end up.
To start as Kentucky’s season does, here are the easy games that should not be close and should in up with Kentucky dominating. These include: Nicholls, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Loyola (Md.), Tennessee Tech, North Carolina Central, and Bellarmine. While these teams may not be bad in their own conferences, these games are no doubt scheduled to boost Kentucky’s win total in hopefully some no-sweat games.
One of the major games coming up fast is on November 11 against Louisville. In the same boat as Kentucky, Pat Kelsey, Louisville’s coach, is in his second year coaching and also has a stacked transfer and recruiting class that has led them to be the #11 team in the country. In their first game against a lower-tier opponent in South Carolina State, Louisville suppressed their offense and beat them by almost 80.
Against Kentucky, Louisville has a lot of things going for it. Firstly, Kentucky’s offense has struggled in its last two games against Georgetown and Nicholls. Including only scoring 28 points in the first half in their first regular-season game. If this problem is not fixed, Louisville may be able to blow past Kentucky. Kentucky also has some key injuries for this game, including Jayden Quaintance and possibly Jaland Lowe and Trent Noah, who went down against Nicholls in the first half and did not play in the second half. Furthermore, this game is being played at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, which means that Louisville fans will be the majority, even though Kentucky fans tend to travel well, especially in close games and in Louisville. However, as we saw last year, Mark Pope shows up in big games, especially rivalry games. Especially in the early season, He won ranked games on the road and is looking to do the same this year. Yet, Kentucky is being put at an early disadvantage early in the season, and a good team like Louisville will most likely win in a defensive, low-scoring, grind-it-out game with a score of 68-61.
Next up is Michigan State in Madison Square Garden, in the Big Apple. Looking back at last year, Kentucky played Ohio State in New York last year and took one of the worst losses of the season, losing by 20 to a team that they should not have. However, Michigan State this year does not match the depth that Kentucky has, and with a crowd that should be mostly Kentucky fans, along with fewer injuries than against Louisville, where Jaland Lowe is projected to be back, Kentucky should cruise to a win with a score of 78-65.
The next big game for Kentucky is in the SEC/ACC Challenge, where Kentucky plays North Carolina in Rupp Arena. North Carolina struggled last year; however had a decent recruiting class that caused them to be ranked #25 in the preseason poll. Yet, North Carolina should have at least one loss before playing the Wildcats, and with tickets already sold out and a get-in price of almost $215 as of November, there is almost no chance for the Tar Heels. With a predicted score of 84-70, Kentucky should roll past them.
In the very next game, Kentucky takes on Gonzaga in Nashville. Gonzaga is always hard to judge because of the strength of their schedule and conference; however, they are ranked #21 in the preseason poll, meaning that they have a somewhat talented roster. By this point in the season, Kentucky should be past its offensive struggles and, being backed by the Kentucky crowd, along with the amount of travel done by Gonzaga, Kentucky should win this game easily by a score of 88-73.
Almost a week later, Kentucky takes on a weaker Indiana team to renew a rivalry. This game takes place in Rupp Arena, and while a few Indiana fans will make the short drive, it will be almost for nothing as Kentucky should be able to stop them. Of the many storylines, Kentucky fans are still salty about Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson, who Mark Pope targeted heavily in the transfer portal, yet Wilkerson committed to Indiana because he wanted to be “that guy”. Kentucky fans should be riled up and lead to the victory with a score of 89-76.
Directly after, Kentucky faces St.John’s in Atlanta, or more commonly known as “Catlanta” to fans. While Atlanta was where Mark Pope notched one of his biggest wins last year against Duke, this year’s challengers are fiercer. One of the main storylines is the coach of St. John’s, Rick Pitino, who coached for Kentucky in the late 1990s and coached Mark Pope on the 1996 championship squad. This game will feature college basketball stars from the past, present, and future, and will surely be Kentucky’s hardest game of the season. Kentucky’s recruiting class was ranked 2nd overall, only behind St. John’s. St. John’s traditional style of play makes it very difficult to beat, needing tough, contested shots to go in and a locked-in defense to have any chance. Kentucky basketball, in recent memory, is not known to have any of these attributes; therefore, Kentucky will most likely take its second loss of the season, 72-65.
This would put Kentucky at a respectable 11-2 record to start SEC play, and they will most likely be ranked inside the top-10. While it is hard to accurately predict any game perfectly, this Kentucky team is oozing with talent and should be able to go toe-to-toe with any team unless some unpredictable injuries occur. Kentucky should be geared up to make a deep run in the March Madness tournament and create memories that will last for UK fans forever.
