NBC Sports released its preseason Top 25 College Basketball poll on Monday and Kentucky is ranked #2 behind Kansas.
Five SEC teams are ranked in the preseason poll.
Here is what they had to say about Kentucky:
2. KENTUCKY WILDCATS
*Who’s gone: Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Jarred Vanderbilt, Wenyen Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones*Who do they add: Reid Travis, Immanuel Quickley, Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, E.J. Montgomery, Ashton Hagans
*Projected starting lineup: Immanuel Quickly, Ashton Hagans, Keldon Johnson, P.J. Washington, Reid Travis
As always, there is quite a bit of turnover on the Kentucky roster. Six key pieces from last year are gone, while the Wildcats bring in yet another loaded recruiting class. I think the combination of incoming backcourt talent and the remaining front court veterans is going to be a fun combination for Kentucky fans to watch, especially when Stanford grad transfer Travis is factored into the mix. The big question for Kentucky is going to be how they can put a team on the floor that can both shoot and play the kind of elite-level defense we all are expecting. Cal has plenty of weapons, and it will be fascinating to see how he decides to deploy them.
Here is a look at the Top 25:
1. Kansas
2. Kentucky
3. Gonzaga
4. Duke
5. Villanova
6. Nevada
7. Tennessee
8. Virginia
9. North Carolina
10. Auburn
11. Kansas State
12. Virginia Tech
13. Michigan State
14. Florida State
15. TCU
16. UCLA
17. West Virginia
18. Oregon
19. Syracuse
20. LSU
21. Mississippi State
22. Clemson
23. Michigan
24. N.C. State
25. Marquette
