Kentucky Wildcats
Record: 26-8 (13-5 SEC)
Head Coach: John Calipari (7th season)
Season Recap: An up-and-down season for Calipari's squad ended with an exciting overtime victory against Texas A&M in the SEC championship game. The Wildcats began the season as the No. 2 team in the country and looked every bit the part as they dismantled Duke in the Champions Classic in November, but it quickly became clear they were not immediately on the same level of last year's squad that made a run at an undefeated season.
Kentucky revamped last year's roster, with point guard Tyler Ulis and forward Alex Poythress as the main holdovers. Ulis has established himself as one of the top floor generals in the country, with a fantastic feel for the game as well as an ability to call his own number. As usual, Calipari brought in a talented core of freshmen to play the majority of the minutes, and guards Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe have made the biggest impacts. Murray—a deadly 3-point shooter—has scored 20 or more points in his final eight games to bring his season average to a team-high 20.1 points per game, and Briscoe has carved out a nice niche for himself inside, averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Highly touted prospect Skal Labissiere has shown signs of promise but has not lived up to his billing on a night-in, night-out basis.
How they make a run: Despite their inconsistencies, the Wildcats remain one of the most dangerous teams in the country in terms of pure talent. Ulis controls the game better than any guard in the country, and his stabilizing presence helps tap into the full potential of his younger teammates as Kentucky makes another deep run in March.
How they falter: Calipari was very unhappy after Selection Sunday that his team was handed a No. 4 seed and placed in the East region, arguably the toughest quadrant in the bracket. There are simply too many high-quality teams to get through, and the Wildcats—who have yet to play excellent basketball for a sustained period of time—cannot make it all the way to Houston.
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