Sahvir Wheeler's return has helped make UK the current betting favorite to win the 2023 national title. (Photo by Jeff Houchin)
Kentucky basketball fans seemed to have mixed reactions to point guard Sahvir Wheeler confirming that he would be back for a second season with the Wildcats.
He transferred from Georgia and led the Southeastern Conference in assists for the second straight season and was third in the nation in assists.
Many fans still wonder if he’s big enough and consistently a good enough shooter to lead Kentucky to a national championship. However, BetOnline seems to have a lot more confidence in Wheeler than many UK fans.
With national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe already confirming he’s back, the national betting site has made UK the early better favorite to win the 2022-23 national championship.
Kentucky is listed at 8-1 in the early odds followed by Arkansas (10-1), North Carolina (10-1), Houston (12-1) and Duke (14-1).
National bracketologist Joe Lunardi also listed UK No. 1 in his first 2023 NCAA Tournament projection.
Before you overreact, remember that BetOnline had Gonzaga as the 9-1 favorite to win the 2022 NCAA Tournament with Baylor and UCLA the second choices at 12-1. None made the Final Four. National champion Kansas was listed at 18-1 going into last season while the odds for the other Final Four teams were 14-1 (Villanova), 16-1 (Duke) and 25-1 (North Carolina).
Kentucky coach John Calipari indicated last week that he seemed comfortable with the roster he thinks he will have — which many think will include high scoring Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves soon and might even end up including South Dakota guard Baylor Scheirman.
“We’ve had a couple players that we brought in. We have our freshmen, our returning players. I feel really good about what it is. You have a building block with Oscar,” Calipari said.
“People have forgot about CJ (Fredrick). But with Sahvir and CJ and Cason (Wallace) and Chris (Livingston) and Jacob (Toppin) and Daimion (Collins), Lance (Ware), and Oscar, wow.
“We bring in somebody, he’s gotta be that guy. He’s gotta be one of us. We have great teammates. I loved coaching that team last year. Loved it.”
6 Responses
I don’t see it unless we get a new head coach before next season.
Is Brooks definitely gone don’t see his name mentioned anymore . I know he put his name in draft without agent , but no way is he getting drafted
There is no update. He has until May 1 to enter transfer portal, or then he either has to play at UK or go pro
Neither Brooks nor Toppin will stay in the draft, but don’t be surprised when one, if not both, go into the transfer portal with Louisville as a likely destination.
We don’t win an SEC title, much less, a national title with Wheeler playing big minutes at the point spot.
Wheeler has led the SEC in assists the last two years. Like 7 pg last year. Wallace, Livingston, or Robinson will be more than capable of playing point to give Wheeler a break. Toppin will be back. I don’t know about Brooks. He may be tired of hearing all the crap. The team is shaping up quite nicely. I can’t wait to see what Cal and the Cats put together next year.
Go Cats!