NCAA.com ranks Kentucky preseason No. 1

With only a few weeks left before Kentucky and Duke meet in the Champions Classic to open the college basketball season, Andy Katz of NCAA.com has released his preseason rankings.

The Kentucky Wildcats come in at No. 1.

As usual, the Cats are loaded. John Calipari has brought in another star-studded class, but that’s not all. They return a crop of veterans, as well as graduate transfer Reid Travis.

Katz had this to say about UK:

John Calipari has one of his deeper teams since he took over with returning experience in P.J. Washington, Nick Richards and Quade Green. The addition of Stanford transfer Reid Travis and a stud freshman class led by Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro make the ‘Cats one of the top teams to beat.

We all know Kentucky is poised to have another great season, but this team has the potential to be really special. And it’s clear the rest of the college basketball world has taken notice as Kentucky continues to headline the No. 1 spot in preseason rankings.

According to Katz’s rankings, Kentucky will play six top 25 teams, as well as five teams in the top ten. All in all, Kentucky will play nine games against Katz’s preseason top 25 teams.

That is a difficult schedule, but it makes for a fun year full of exciting games.

Of the teams in Katz’s rankings, UK, Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi State were the only ones from the SEC. Most notably, Katz left LSU out of not only his top 25, but also his top 36. I expect Will Wade and LSU to be ranked in the preseason, and also be an SEC title contender.

Katz also predicts Kentucky will be ranked anywhere from 1-3 in the AP Preseason poll.

You can find Katz’s preseason rankings here.