11. Kentucky Wildcats - 10-2
For teams with completely new rosters, an adjustment period usually costs them some early games. But new Coach Mark Pope was able to get them to gel quickly. They got the impressive 77-72 win over Duke in the Champions Classic in the second week of the season to validate their being a ranked team.
The Wildcats spilt their next four games against high-major opposition. They lost to Clemson in the SEC/ACC Challenge and lost by 20 points to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. However, they also beat rival Louisville and defeated Gonzaga in an overtime thriller in Seattle, coming back from 15+ points down.
Among the new cast of players, former Oklahoma guard Otega Oweh (16.2 ppg) leads them in scoring. Jaxson Robinson, who followed Pope over from BYU, is putting up over 12 ppg. Koby Brea leads the nation with 51% shooting from three-point range on six attempts, while Lamont Butler (14.0 ppg and 4.2 apg) has been a key ball-handler, including 33 points in the win over the Cardinals.
After a matchup with Brown to end the non-con, Kentucky has a tough slate to open SEC play. They host current unbeaten Florida, before games against Georgia, Mississippi State, and Alabama. It’s a team that can do just about everything, but as the Ohio State result shows, they can be beaten.