6. Kentucky (12-2)
The offensive fireworks have been real from Kentucky this season and they’ve shown their potential from the very beginning. It’s important to remember that Mark Pope threw this lineup together in the weeks after he was hired and has these Wildcats playing impressive basketball. Wins over Duke and Gonzaga highlight the resume currently but SEC play has a chance of changing that quickly.
Before that, the Wildcats had a nice finale to nonconference play, winning 88-54 against Brown back on Tuesday. Kentucky made 50% of their shots and had a balanced attack against the Bears led by Andrew Carr’s 14-point performance. The real fireworks came early Saturday, as the Wildcats survived an entertaining conference opener with a 106-100 win against Florida. All five starters scored in double figures though it was Koby Brea’s 23 points off the bench that led the charge, including seven 3-pointers.
Let’s not pretend like everything is perfect for these Wildcats, because the defense just gave up 100 points at home two weeks after that dreadful game against Ohio State. The pieces in place are doing fantastic things on the offensive end, especially with great shooting from Brea, Lamont Butler, and others, but how far will this defense take them in the SEC? That journey involves road games at Georgia and Mississippi State next week.