By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Kentucky is one of the blue blood programs of men’s college basketball. Every year they’re expected to at least compete for a national championship. The Wildcats also have some of the best recruiting classes every year under coach John Calipari.

They started the season ranked in the top five. So far, the Cats have not lived up to the hype with a 14-5 record. Their only 4-3 in conference play which is the biggest surprise. The SEC is one of the weaker power conferences and Kentucky has dominated the league for decades.

Kentucky has lost two consecutive games to South Carolina and Florida. The Gators won a close game on the road 66-64. They also snapped Kentucky’s 30 game home win streak against conference opponents.

“At the end of the day we had our chances, and I love the fact we fought,” Calipari said.

Currently the Wildcats are unranked and tied for fourth place in the SEC.

At this rate it looks like they’ll struggle to make the NCAA tournament. We will see if Kentucky can right the ship and become a contender.

They’re led by talented freshman again this year. Forward Kevin Knox leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Knox was Mr. Florida in 2017 and he was considered a top-10 prospect by several publications. His father was a wide receiver for Florida State and a member of the 1993 national championship team.

Hamidou Diallo averages 13 ppg and 4.5 rpg. The 6’5 shooting guard was rated No.1 at his position in 2016. He actually had to redshirt last season because he was a midyear enrollee in January 2017.

Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 11.9 ppg and 4.3 assists per game.

With young talent, sometimes it takes time for them to adjust to college. At a school like Kentucky they have star players at each position so it can be difficult for them to play as a team.

Saturday January 27^th they participate in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at No.6 West Virginia. This is the best opponent on the schedule and I think this game can determine the rest of the season.

I think a win will give the team great momentum. It will boost the teams’ confidence and encourage them to play as a team. Based on what I’ve seen I give the advantage to the Mountaineers.

The next game is home versus Vanderbilt. They beat the Commodores 74-67 earlier this month. I expect a season sweep.

February begins on the road at Mizzou. This is the first meeting of the season but I expect Kentucky to prevail since they have more talent.

I expect the Wildcats to stop struggling in conference play and put a decent winning streak together. I don’t see them catching up with Florida to win the regular season conference title.