Jay Bilas ranked his top 68 teams in college basketball this morning in an ESPN+ article.
Bilas ranked Kansas No. 1 and Duke No. 2. Michigan State, Purdue and UConn round out the top 5.
Kentucky comes in at No. 16. Bilas noted, “the Wildcats will be a work in progress early but will be very good come March.”
Here is an excerpt about the Cats:
No. 16. Kentucky Wildcats: John Calipari has tried the transfer portal, seemingly eschewing the one-and-done model that had been so successful for most of his tenure at Kentucky. The Wildcats won 48 games over the past two years but did not get past the second round of the NCAA tournament in either season and were trailing Tennessee and Alabama in the polls. While Coach Cal seemed to be trying to get ahead of the transfer culture that college basketball shifted toward, he had been one of the very few who could attract the mega talent to make young teams work. Both approaches have been successful, but the past two seasons have not been “Kentucky successful.” After two years of leaning on transfers, Coach Cal seems to be heading back to the future with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, highlighted by uber-talented Justin Edwards, point guard D.J. Wagner and guard Rob Dillingham (who put up 40 points in a Blue-White scrimmage at Northern Kentucky). Wagner can do everything and is an outstanding defender, while Edwards is a long scorer who is crazy explosive and versatile. Add in shooter Antonio Reeves, versatile, well-traveled transfer Tre Mitchell, and freshman Reed Sheppard (son of Kentucky royalty) and Kentucky has talent across the board. A major key will be rim protection and interior play, and Aaron Bradshaw should be the guy in the middle. He will not start the season but will be a major factor when he returns. The Wildcats will be a work in progress early but will be very good come March.
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