Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

Friday Headlines: Will Kentucky Basketball make the NCAA Tournament?

Kentucky has a tough road ahead.

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Dec 30, 2022, 6:40am EST

Yes, it sounds crazy to ask that question about a Kentucky Wildcats team that was so highly regarded just under six weeks ago.

When the Wildcats were in the Bahamas on their summer exhibition tour, they appeared to be elite. The hype around a veteran-heavy team with talented freshman ready to contribute was rich.

Yet, Kentucky has been vastly underwhelming throughout their season so far and don’t appear to have any solutions.

Kentucky’s latest loss came at Missouri less than two weeks after an uninspiring defeat they suffered from UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. The Wildcats will undoubtedly be unranked next week and will do good to soundly beat an even worse-off Louisville Cardinals team.

So, if the Wildcats are struggling to even make the top 25, can’t win away from Rupp Arena and haven’t posted a single quality win to their resume for this season, how can anyone argue against the reality that Kentucky could very well miss the NCAA tournament.

If you look at Kentucky’s schedule, there are several tough games in the near future: at Alabama, at Tennessee and vs. Kansas all in the next month. Then Kentucky will host Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn in February.

With a struggling offense, constant lineup changes, and lack of passion, it’s difficult to show any optimism towards this particular Wildcats team. Kentucky could surprise most of their fanbase, win a few of the listed games and reassert themselves as a “title contender.”

But that would require the team to play much better than they have so far this season.

Do you think Kentucky eventually bounces back and makes the Big Dance? Let us know!