The Kentucky Wildcats have been unranked for the majority of the year. It doesn’t mean that they’re a bad team.
John Calipari is a winner. It’s rare to see the Cats sit outside of the Top 25 this long, and because of that, Wildcats fans have grown anxious. Like clockwork, when Cal’s team doesn’t perform to the standard that they’re “supposed to,” there are calls for his head. This was repeatedly the case in the 2020-21 season, and this year has been no different.
Except, this year hasn’t really been that bad for Kentucky. Yes, they lost to 9-17 South Carolina at home. Yes, they should’ve beaten Georgia. But if you disregard those two losses for a second, Kentucky’s record becomes 15-0 against Quad 2, 3, and 4 opponents and 3-7 against Quad 1.
That’s comparable to Maryland, Arkansas, Auburn, and Illinois. They’re an experienced team with three four-year starters, two top-20 freshmen, and the former Player of the Year, Oscar Tshibwe. Right now, they sit in the Top 40 in NET rankings and 35th in KenPom (prior to Saturday) and have beaten two quality teams in a row, Mississippi State and #10 Tennessee. For almost any other program, this would be enough to satisfy their fans, but the Big Blue Nation demands excellence.
To be fair to them, though, Kentucky has been somewhat of a Goliath since the Covid era. They’ve been an easy target and a team to look forward to when they’re on your schedule. Even when they were a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament last year, they ended the regular season with eight losses and were sent home early by Jersey City’s Saint Peter’s Peacocks.
I believe that Tshibwe, Toppin, and Wheeler have left that all behind. The past two games were statements showing they’re ready to start winning again. With Florida, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas on the docket, they have four winnable games before they head to the SEC tournament in Nashville.
If the Wildcats win out, their ceiling is through the roof, and there’s no reason anyone should want to play them. The Goliath narrative would be over, and they’d be back to normal Kentucky doing normal Kentucky things.
However, the season may be peril if they wither back to their previous form. They have everything they need to be a team with the potential for a Final Four run, but the season’s future lies in the next four games. If they don’t develop some form of momentum, I don’t see how they can fix themselves up before Selection Sunday.
As for Coach Cal, I also don’t see him going anywhere. He already recruited the number one class for the 2023 season, and the university would be hard-pressed to fill his shoes if he did get the boot.
I guess they’ll just have to settle for one of the winningest coaches in NCAA History.
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