SEC Basketball: Buy or sell Kentucky, Tennessee and LSU
Kentucky Wildcats
Expectation: Win the National Championship
Buy or Sell: Sell
This year’s Kentucky team is a touch different than the standard freshman-only, no others allowed squad that Calipari normally trots out. In skill set, quality, and team makeup, this year’s version of the Wildcats reminds me a lot of the 2015-16 squad.
Even though he is a transfer and not necessarily a system guy, senior Reid Travis has a skill set that bears a striking resemblance to that of Alex Poythress. If we want to continue the metaphorical comparison, Keldon Johnson is this team’s Jamal Murray, fully capable of scoring in bunches and in a variety of ways.
What is this team missing? They don’t have a Tyler Ulis. Freshman guard Ashton Hagans may be the closest thing, but he is just not the same dual-threat scorer/passer that Ulis was during his sophomore campaign.
Even with the talent they had on the 2015-16 team, Kentucky didn’t make it out of the first weekend. This year’s team is much better defensively than that team was, but I suspect it will not be enough to allow them to reach the lofty expectations fans in Lexington have for them.
Next. SEC Power Rankings. dark
Will they make the Sweet 16? More likely than not.
Will they make the Final Four? They’ve got a fighter’s chance.
Will they win it all? Fat chance.