FanRag and NBC not as high on Kentucky Wildcats in their preseason polls

Rob Dauster at NBC Sports updated his preseason Top 25, and Kentucky comes in at 3rd following the addition of Stanford grad transfer Reid Travis.

The Wildcats are behind the Kansas Jayhawks and Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Here is what Dauster had to say about Kentucky:

As always, there is quite a bit of turnover on the Kentucky roster. Six key pieces from last year are gone, while the Wildcats bring in yet another loaded recruiting class. I think the combination of incoming backcourt talent and the remaining front court veterans is going to be a fun combination for Kentucky fans to watch, even if they aren’t going to be able to shoot for another year. The question is going to be whether or not these freshmen can all come together, because there is only one player on the roster that has more than one year of college experience.

Kentucky won’t set the nets on fire from beyond the arc this year, but this team should definitely be an upgrade in terms of shooting.

Quade Green has shown the ability to knock down perimeter shots, shooting at a nearly 38 percent clip from the perimeter as a freshman. Tyler Herro has been regarded as one of the best perimeter shooters in the 2018 recruiting class and connected on 40 percent of his three pointers during his senior season.

Jemarl Baker was regarded as one of the better shooters in the 2017 class and figures to be part of the rotation. Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson can be serviceable shooters.

And you have to think that with the attention Kentucky will command with PJ Washington and Reid Travis, that will create some open looks for those guys.

Duke and Villanova come in at 4 and 5, respectively.

While it’s clear Dauster isn’t quite as high on Kentucky as other preseason polls, Jon Rothstein really isn’t a fan of the Cats’ current setup. Somehow, Rothstein has Kentucky ranked 6th in his latest poll at FanRag Sports.

And yes, it includes the addition of Travis, yet somehow, Kentucky is behind Kansas, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Auburn and...Nevada.

If you want an explanation, Rothstein is trying to defend himself on Twitter.

For what it’s worth, both NBC and FanRag projected Kentucky’s starting lineup for next season. Here’s what NBC came up with:

• PG: Ashton Hagans
• SG: Immanuel Quickley
• SF: Keldon Johnson
• PF: PJ Washington
• C: Reid Travis

And here’s the lineup FanRag has:

• PG: Ashton Hagans
• SG: Quade Green
• SF: Keldon Johnson
• PF: PJ Washington
• C: Reid Travis

Thoughts?