NCAA Basketball: Questions about Kentucky, Duke, and more takeaways from the week
By Brian Rauf
1) Are we sure Kentucky is one of the best teams in the country?
In the aftermath of that game at MSG, there was one prevailing theme – are we sure Kentucky is good?
The Wildcats are extremely talented and have a number of players who will have long NBA careers. But, this year, they haven’t done anything on the court to warrant their place in the top 25, let alone in the top 10.
They’ve been disappointing in their two biggest games of the year having been smacked by Duke in a 34-point loss and now losing to a Seton Hall team that figures to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Heck, they’ve even struggled against lesser competition, being in closer-than-it-should-be games against Southern Illinois, VMI, and Winthrop. UK also trailed UNC-Greensboro in the second half.
The reasons for these struggles are obvious. They’re not a great defensive team despite their size and, after being fourth in the country in three-point defense last year, rank only 334th this year. Seton Hall took advantage with 11 made threes that largely kept them in the game and, eventually, pushed them over the top.
We’ll know a lot more about Kentucky by the end of December as they close 2018 with games against North Carolina and Louisville. If they win both of those games, the Wildcats will be fine. But, if they were to lose one or even both, panic might start to set in Lexington.