ESPN released its updated way-too-early men’s college basketball Top 25 rankings this week with four months still remaining until Kentucky’s first scheduled game of the 2024-25 season.
Kansas topped the list at No. 1, hardly a surprise to anyone who follows college hoops.
As for Kentucky? Well, here’s something that once seemed practically unheard of: the Wildcats rank as only the ninth best SEC team on ESPN’s list, checking in at No. 23 overall in veteran college basketball analyst Jeff Borzello’s Top 25.
Of course, SEC basketball has changed a lot over the past 10 or even five years. The conference has shed its reputation as a “football-only” league with programs like Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina all reaching the Final Four since 2017.
Tennessee made a run to the Elite Eight last season, and Florida and Arkansas have also made deep NCAA Tournament runs since 2017. The Razorbacks — not that anyone has forgotten — are now led by former Kentucky coach John Calipari, who took a handful of former ‘Cats and Kentucky pledges with him to Fayetteville.
All but one of the aforementioned schools are ahead of Kentucky in Borzello’s rankings, with Alabama as the top-ranked SEC team at No. 2 nationally after the program’s first trip to the Final Four a season ago. Behind the Crimson Tide are Auburn (No. 11), Texas A&M (No. 12), Tennessee (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 14), Ole Miss (No. 20), Florida (No. 21) and SEC newcomer Texas (No. 22).
Regardless of those schools, the Wildcats will look a lot different when they take the floor for the first time this season. As Borzello explains:
“Mark Pope’s first roster in Lexington will look drastically different from most of his predecessor’s teams. Out are the five-star freshmen, in are a slew of prolific 3-point shooters to stretch defenses. Jaxson Robinson ultimately followed his former coach from BYU and he’s the best addition, playing himself onto NBA draft boards despite coming off the bench. Robinson is joined by Koby Brea (Dayton), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia) and Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) as high-level shooters, while Lamont Butler (San Diego State) and Amari Williams (Drexel) bring defensive prowess.”
Kentucky’s first scheduled game is its November 12 matchup against Duke in Atlanta. After that, the Wildcats’ next scheduled game is at Clemson in the annual ACC-SEC Challenge on December 3. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight last season for the first time since 1980.
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