Men’s college basketball panic meter: Is Kentucky a title contender?

Less than three weeks into the new men’s college basketball season, a handful of tradition-rich programs have already suffered at least two losses.

Which sluggish starts are aberrations? Which are warning signs? The early-season college hoops panic meter assesses the most intriguing situations.

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KENTUCKY (3-2)

The most expensive roster in college basketball so far hasn’t performed up to its

Kentucky has lost its only two matchups against credible opponents so far this season, falling 96-88 at Louisville and 83-66 against Michigan State.

Two setbacks away from home against top-20 opponents aren’t normally cause for alarm, but consider the preseason expectations for Kentucky. Its boosters invested heavily this offseason in hopes of helping Mark Pope elevate from a promising debut season into contending for a national championship in year two.

The lack of effort and synergy on the floor are also concerning. It isn’t just that Kentucky has been disorganized and undisciplined on offense and defense.

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It’s stuff like this.

Or this.

Then there’s how distraught Pope looked and sounded when he finally addressed reporters more than 45 minutes after the Michigan State game ended. He described his team as “disappointed and discouraged and completely discombobulated.” He said Kentucky is “far away from the team that we aspire to be.”

“My messaging is not resonating with the guys right now, and that’s my responsibility,” Pope added.

The good news for Kentucky is that it’s late-November, not late-February. There’s plenty of time for Pope to make adjustments. Reinforcements could also eventually arrive in the form of future first-round pick and elite rim protector Jayden Quaintance, who hasn’t played since a knee injury last February, and prized transfer and lead guard Jaland Lowe, out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.

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Still, the early vibes aren’t great. And neither are the results. That’s cause for real concern.

Panic meter: 6 out of 10. Kentucky will get better, but it’s difficult to envision this team contending for the national title, especially if Lowe is unable to return.

MARQUETTE (3-3)

At a time when many prominent programs across college basketball annually overhaul their rosters via the transfer portal, Marquette coach Shaka Smart has positioned the Golden Eagles as an outlier.

Smart famously has not taken a transfer in four years, preferring to prioritize developing the young players who are already part of his program rather than going portaling in search of proven replacements .

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That strategy when Smart guided Marquette to 29 wins in 2023 and 27 wins the following year. The reaction was more muted last season when the Golden Eagles still made the NCAA tournament but regressed a bit. Now, Smart is facing questions for the first time about the viability of his philosophy with Marquette off to a nightmare start.

It was concerning when Marquette surrendered 100 points to Indiana in a November 9 blowout loss. It was even more alarming when the Golden Eagles lost at home to shorthanded Maryland six days later. By the time Marquette suffered an overtime home loss to Dayton on Wednesday night, , “It feels like the Golden Eagles’ hopes for an at-large NCAA tournament berth have vanished before the calendar even flips to December.”

The biggest issue for Marquette has been a lack of rim protection. When opposing players get downhill, they find little resistance in the paint. The lack of a consistent second scorer has also been an issue. Chase Ross has been a major bright spot, but there’s no one else Marquette can count on night-in, night-out to pile up points.

When asked how he’d respond to criticism that he should have found a transfer or two capable of addressing those shortcomings, Smart defended his approach.

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“Listen, we’ve had a lot of success around here the way we’ve gone about things,”

“We certainly have a group of guys who can win a game like tonight whether we went in the transfer portal or not. I’ve been doing this a long time. Criticism comes with the territory. But I think if you look at the way our process has gone in the time we’ve been here, I guess you could still criticize us now, but I think it’s been pretty good.”

Smart’s Marquette track record has been good.

But his stubborn loyalty to his returning players also opens him up to criticism when things don’t work.

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He doesn’t need to abandon his principles and annually rebuild his roster, but perhaps occasionally patching a hole via the transfer portal wouldn’t be so bad.

Panic meter: 8 out of 10. Marquette has dug a deep early hole. This feels like a team more likely to flirt with a sub-.500 season than one capable of charging back into NCAA tournament contention.

MEMPHIS (1-2)

Since Memphis remains marooned in a subpar conference that offers few marquee opponents, the Tigers have to schedule aggressively in non-league play to give themselves any chance at securing an at-large NCAA tournament bid.

So far this year, it looks like they bit off more than they can chew.

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Already, Memphis suffered a narrow loss at Ole Miss and a 92-78 gut punch at home against rebuilding UNLV. On Thursday night, the Tigers open play at the Baha Mar Tournament in the Bahamas against top-ranked Purdue. Looming on the schedule before Christmas are, gulp, Baylor, Louisville, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

That would be a daunting schedule for one of Penny Hardaway’s best Memphis teams, but this team isn’t as talented as some of its predecessors. Gone is every key player from last season’s 29-win team including stars PJ Haggerty, Dain Dainja and Tyrese Hunter. Hardaway again played transfer roulette trying to replace that outgoing talent, but this time he appears to have missed more than he hit.

After Aaron Bradshaw had more fouls than points in the Ole Miss loss, Hardaway yanked the 7-foot-1 former McDonald’s All-American out of the starting lineup against UNLV. That didn’t do much to get Bradshaw going as he contributed four points, three turnovers and three fouls in 10 minutes against the Rebels.

In his , Hardaway repeatedly begged for more “fight” from his team. He vowed to “find five guys, find seven guys, find eight guys that can just run through a wall. Not even shoot well, play well. Just fight.”

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“We’re still trying to figure that out right now,” Hardaway conceded.

Panic meter: 7.5 out of 10. This could be a long year for Memphis. The non-league schedule is too daunting and the frontcourt isn’t good enough.

KANSAS (3-2)

For a team that has suffered two double-digit losses against the only two top-200 opponents it has faced, Kansas has reason for optimism.

The Jayhawks faced Duke without potential No. 1 overall pick Darryn Peterson on Tuesday night yet punched above their weight class, staying within a bucket or two deep into the second half before ultimately falling 78-66.

Kansas was leading by six when promising center Flory Bidunga picked up his second foul of the first half with 6:40 to go. With Bidunga on the bench, Duke ripped off a 21-7 run before halftime, forcing the Jayhawks to play from behind the rest of the way.

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A program of Kansas’ caliber doesn’t celebrate moral victories, but this was the definition of one. On offense, Tre White and Melvin Council provided some much-needed firepower in Peterson’s absence. On defense, the Jayhawks frustrated Cameron Boozer at times, sending smart double teams and forcing him to finish over length.

“We’re a makeshift team right now, but I thought we did some good things,” Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters after the game. “I thought we competed hard. I thought we uglied the game up pretty well. I haven’t spoken to [Duke coach Jon Scheyer], but I doubt he thought they ran the most fluid offense they’ve ever run.”

While Kansas will likely tumble out of the AP Top 25 on Monday, the Jayhawks can take solace that it sounds like Peterson will be back from his hamstring injury before too long. If he can provide the scoring punch Kansas lacks and Bidunga can avoid foul trouble, there’s no reason this Kansas team can’t exceed modest preseason expectations.

Panic meter: 4 out of 10. Don’t judge Kansas until Peterson returns. He can carry the offense for a team that has a high ceiling defensively.