NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason winners entering 2024-25 season

No. 22 - Kentucky Wildcats: New look, new era, same expectations

Even if John Calipari is gone and Mark Pope now enters the fold, expectations in Lexington will not waver despite the fact the 2024-25 Kentucky Wildcats will look vastly different from previous Wildcat teams college basketball fans have grown accustomed to over the years.

According to BartTorvik’s preseason rankings, Kentucky returns 0.1% of its returning minutes. It’s nothing shy of a massive overhaul in Lexington and maybe, just maybe, it’s a breath of fresh air that was much-needed for a program that has gone stale over the past four years (for Kentucky standards, that is).

From inheriting a roster practically from scratch, Mark Pope has the opportunity to form a new identity immediately, which can be a major plus for a first-year head coach at a big-time school like Kentucky.

At BYU, Pope instilled a high-flying, three-point friendly offense. The Cougars averaged 32 three-point attempts per game -- tied for highest average in college basketball. By constructing a roster full of shooters, such as Kobe Brea, who shot nearly 50% from three last season at Dayton, with some rim-protecting bigs, the transition for Pope may go more smoothly than originally anticipated, making the Wildcats a top offseason winner entering the 2024-25 season.