Kentucky Basketball: Why the Wildcats will struggle to win titles this year

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LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 16: Ashton Hagans #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats is defended by Lamonte Turner #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena on February 16, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Kentucky basketball is young and talented, but that may be one of the reasons they end this season titleless. Here are some reasons why.

There are currently three SEC teams in the top 13 of the AP top-25 and two of them, Kentucky and Tennessee, are looking to land No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee was recently knocked out of the poll’s top spot by Kentucky, and those Wildcats have been steadily climbing the ranks all season and have reached the No. 4 slot. However, it is likely just one of these two will land a top seed, and in my opinion, that won’t be the team that plays its home games at Rupp Arena. In fact, I don’t think there will be any new banners hung in the rafters for this season, be it regular season, conference tournament, or national title banners.

Now don’t get me wrong, Big Blue Nation, I’m not saying Kentucky isn’t good, they are undoubtedly very good. At this point, I see a multitude of reasons that will stop head coach John Calipari and his squad from cutting down the nets anywhere in 2018-19, whether it be at home to celebrate a regular-season title, in Charlotte for the conference tournament, or at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota at the Final Four.

The Wildcats are currently 22-4 and still sit one game behind Tennessee for the top spot in the conference. Barring a complete collapse, they should be all but guaranteed to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But, Kentucky will come up short on celebrations this year and here are some reasons why.

(Note: Statistics and rankings through Feb. 21)

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