UK Athletics Photo
Okay it is way early to be talking about a list of legitimate national championship contenders but the speculation never ends and Kentucky basketball fans certainly don’t mind this year.
Coach Mark Pope’s second UK team has far more depth and versatility than his first team that made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Kentucky players are openly talking about a national championship and so are fans.
National media members continue to be high on Kentucky and Rob Dauster made the clear on THE DTF PODCAST for The Field of 68: After Dark.
“Purdue, Houston and Florida is the top three. They are, to me, a cut above everyone else,” Dauster said. “Then there is a group of nine that you can kind of formulate however you want to formulate, but for me, it would be in this order: UConn, Louisville, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Duke, St. John’s, Michigan, BYU and Arkansas. Those are the clear-cut top 12 teams.”
Kentucky starting Pope’s second season in a top 12 list and actually picked seventh on three of national title contenders has to be better than any UK fan could have envisioned when Pope got the job in April of 2024 and had zero players on the roster.
It’s interesting to have rival Louisville picked above the Cats and also to see former UK coach John Calipari’s Arkansas team projected in the 12 potential national championship teams. That just adds fuel to the fire for Big Blue Nation fans.
“I think year one everyone was in a different place, everybody is in a different place program-wise. Now in year two, the excuses and opportunities to say, ‘Well, it was year one,’ are away,” John Fanta said. “I’m talking about this web that falls between Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Louisville, Kentucky, to Lexington, Kentucky.
“Now, this upcoming season, all three programs have a case to go to the promised land, to go that far. I think that is super intriguing because those bases are all thinking — it all goes back to BBN.
“They’re all thinking about, ‘Well, who’s got the leg up?’ All three teams have intriguing talent and have the makeup to go far. That fascinates me, the dynamic between Louisville, Kentucky with Jaland Lowe — who I like quite a bit — and Arkansas.”
And what a year it would be for Kentucky and Louisville to make the Final Four since it will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
2 Responses
Playing Louisville at the Yum Center the first game of the season will be huge. If we win, people will say we have been underrated. If we lose, they will say that we are overrated. Neither evaluation would be accurate; it's the first game of the season. Let's see how we look on January 1, then February 15, and finally March 1. Those are the yardsticks that matter, but I guess the talking heads need something to talk about. Barring injuries, come tourney time the Cats will be a team that NOBODY will want to play.
Hope the Louisville Cats grab as many tickets as possible !!