Tuesday Headlines: Kentucky rises in college basketball preseason rankings

Good morning, BBN!

We are only a few days removed from the Kentucky Wildcats taking the court again as they welcome the Georgetown Hoyas to Lexington for their final exhibition game. However, the excitement is still circulating around the Commonwealth after the beatdown of No. 1 Purdue last Friday night.

The Big Blue Nation is also not the only people taking note of how good the Cats looked, either, as they have risen in several preseason rankings from major media outlets.

Let’s first start with The Athletic as CJ Moore propelled Kentucky from 9th to 2nd overall in this update.

“Not sure you could watch Friday’s preseason loss at Kentucky and come away thinking the Boilermakers were the better team,” Moore says. “Overreaction? Possible. Two years ago, Purdue lost at Arkansas in the preseason and ended up one of the best two teams in the sport, while Arkansas watched the NCAA Tournament at home. But Purdue was trying to win Friday. Kentucky just looked better. And Purdue’s lack of athleticism compared to other top teams is noticeable.”

The Cats also landed a top-10 ranking from Sports Illustrated as they ranked all 365 team playing this season.

“This is a deeper, more talented and more athletic Kentucky team than the one we saw last year, one with the potential to be much improved defensively,” writes Kevin Sweeney. “If Mark Pope can find creative ways to operate efficiently on the offensive end (and there are plenty of reasons to believe he will), this could be one of the best two-way squads in the country. With a healthy Jayden Quaintance, this is a team that can compete for a national championship.”

Kentucky was the 10th team listed in Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf’s ranking of the top 80 teams in college basketball based on potential to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. It also placed the Wildcats in the ‘Final Four Contenders’ tier, just below the ‘National Championship Favorites’ tier, which included Purdue.

“Kentucky spent millions to add talent around the SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh, headlined by Arizona State transfer and projected top-five pick Jayden Quaintance, whose expected return to the court later this season after suffering an ACL tear in February could elevate the Wildcats into the title favorites tier,” Medcalf wrote.

Things are looking good for the Cats as they enter the regular season. Now let’s hope they come out and play another solid game against the Hoyas on Thursday.