Kentucky Basketball: A Look Down The Schedule

Finally, finally, the UK basketball schedule is known to the public.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that every year, the release of the schedule gets later and later.  Be that as it may, it's good to finally see it and get a chance to comment on what this year has to offer.

Follow me past the fold for more.

My first thought was, "Good grief, this schedule is weaker than last year!"  But I reckoned without the Maui Invitational, a veritable gauntlet of good teams that make this season's OOC schedule look a lot better than last year.

The Oklahoma Sooners,  and/or Virginia Cavaliers and Washington Huskies are some quality opponents to be playing early in the season, particularly Washington if it comes to that.  After stealing away a couple of Washington's recruits, the level of fan interest in that one will be off the charts.  I truly hope and pray it happens.

But the final, should Kentucky make it that far, could be against either the Connecticut Huskies or the Michigan St. Spartans.  There is plenty of drama in both those games, although it has been a long time since UK played the Spartans this early in the season.  We usually seem to meet them in the NCAA tournament.  But either way, it will be a game worth watching (assuming, of course, cannon fodder Wichita State and Chaminade do not spoil the party by pulling major upsets).

East Tennessee State is a rematch of UK's first-round NCAA tournament game from last year, and the Buccaneers will be losing only two seniors this year to graduation.  They will have a very experienced team facing the young Wildcats, and that game should be very competitive.

The Portland Pilots are another experienced team that had a good record last year (21-11) and gets a lot of their production back.  They could make things interesting for Kentucky as well.

Then there are the staples:  the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Louisville Cardinals.  These are the games that really are meaningful, and will definitely present some challenges.  Let's look at these teams in turn:

Indiana

The Hoosiers did not have a super recruiting class in 2010, but they did add Victor Oladipo, a Dematha product with remarkable, above-the-rim athleticism.  Returning are Maruice Creek (injured last year), Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, Verdell Jones III and Tom Pritchard.  This Indiana team is likely to be much, much better than the 10-21 team of last year, and they will have far more team experience than Kentucky.  The game is in Rupp Arena, though, so I like the Wildcats' chances here.

North Carolina

The Tar Heels lose six seniors, including Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard to graduation, and Ed Davis to the Toronto Raptors.  But they more than make up for that with a stellar recruiting class that includes Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendal Marshall, as well as returning stars Tyler Zeller, Larry Drew II, the Wear twins and Will Graves.

These Heels will likely be way, way better than last years' edition, and will present a major, serious challenge to Kentucky in Chapel Hill.  This one, folks, looks like a 50/50 proposition at best to me this early in the season, mainly due to the fact that North Carolina has so much more experienced depth than Kentucky does.  This will be an early-season heavyweight bout, and I have to give UNC the double edge of more experience and home court.

Louisville

The Dirty Birds lose a lot from last year's team, including Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Samardo Samuels as well as major reserves Reginald Delk.  They bring in a couple of quality, but not game-changing recruits in Justin Coleman, Gorgui Dieng as well as Elisha Justice.  Their big guns this year are going to be Peyton Siva, Rakeem Buckles, Jared Swopshire and Terrance Jennings.

The Cardinals look to be a good team this year, but to me, they look like they don't have enough inside firepower or defensive quickness to handle what the Wildcats are likely to throw at them.  What they do have is the benefit of this being their first game against a major rival in their brand new downtown Louisville arena, and that is a major boost for the Birds.  I like the 'Cats in this one, but not by much.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish deserve a mention as well.  The Irish have lost all-everything Luke Harangody as well as Tory Jackson and Ben Hansbrough, but they bring back plenty in Tim Abromaitis, Tyrone Nash (remember him as a UK recruit?) and Carleton Scott, as well as a very good point guard freshman named Eric Atkins.  The Irish will be competitive, and it is great to see them back on our schedule after a long absence.

That's my run-down on the non-conference schedule.  We'll talk about this more in the coming days.