The Kentucky Wildcats had, perhaps, their biggest week of the season in terms of importance this past week. They defeated a solid Ole Miss team to start the week. Then, on Saturday, they got what might have been their biggest win of the season by beating Auburn on the road.
As a result, many people who were ready to write the season off have changed their tune. They’ve climbed in the rankings for the first time in weeks, and analysts have all taken notice. Also, on Monday, USA TODAY had the Wildcats as one of the week’s big winners on the week.
Just a week after many observers had the Wildcats’ postseason prospects dead and buried – yes, including us – they turned in their most complete performance of the year at Auburn. That’s the same Auburn team that just three nights earlier on the same floor laid a 40-point thrashing on South Carolina. If Kentucky can continue that defensive intensity that had been conspicuously absent, it can still be dangerous in March.
Kentucky still has some things to prove before they’re considered a real National Championship contender. However, they seem to have gotten their season back on track. Their defense has found its groove, and the offense is still one of the country’s best.
The rest of this season is set up to finish in an spectacular fashion. The Wildcats have the talent to make a deep run, but they’ll need to show that the defense can consistently play as well as it did last week. If so, they’ll be big winners at the end of the season as well.