College basketball writers predict how Kentucky will bounce back next season

Coming off the worst season in program history and the worst season under John Calipari, the Kentucky Wildcats are looking to bounce back next season in a big way. They’re partly there, as they have made the necessary changes in the offseason to ensure that a 9-16 season does not happen again.

Calipari went and hired arguably the two best assistant coaches in the game from a program who secure a No. 1 seed in last season’s tournament, and Calipari also went and overhauled his entire roster.

John Calipari realized that there was a major problem with his roster last season, from a lack of a true point guard, to a lack of shooting and scoring, to a roster that just could not figure it all out.

Calipari went out and added four transfers, all regarded as some of the best on the transfer market, and added a true stud point guard in TyTy Washington, who is vaulting up rankings boards and contending for the No. 1 point guard position.

So how will Kentucky bounce back? CBS writers are confident that Kentucky will have a good regular season, but are not confident that the Wildcats have what it takes to make a deep tournament run.

Gary Parrish predicts that the Wildcats will have 26 wins in the regular season, and to make a Sweet 16 appearance.

it’s pretty clear Calipari made a point to get old and add shooting. He’s done both. And now the Wildcats are set for a nice bounce-back season that should result in a top-three finish in the SEC.

Matt Norlander predicts 23 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance.

Kentucky has a good-not-great regular season, and then Calipari will get a couple of wins in the NCAAs with a 6 or 7 attached the Wildcats’ name when the bracket is revealed next March.

Kyle Boone is the lone writer to predict Kentucky making somewhat of a run, going to the Elite Eight with 27 wins.

But the combination of skill, experience and IQ should make this Wildcats team one of the best in the SEC

And David Cobb closes it out by projecting the Wildcats to not even make it out of the first weekend of the tournament, something Calipari has only done once at Kentucky, back in 2016. Cobb also predicts 25 wins.

unless a superstar emerges, this team will be limited by its newness to each other and bow out after a respectable bounce-back season.

There is not a lot of optimism on the college basketball beat scene about Kentucky being one of the better teams in the country this season, or even one of the top teams in the SEC. None picked Kentucky to finish in first place in the conference, while only one picked the Cats to finish in second.

While schools such as Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, and LSU are indeed looking really good for next season, if there is simply one thing that everyone has learned in the past 12 years - don’t count out John Calipari.

To read their full explanations about how Kentucky will bounce back, click here.