How the Kentucky Wildcats Will Fare the Rest of the Season

The University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team is usually known for winning games and championships. In fact, the Wildcats are the winningest program in the nation with 2,239 wins. But after a close loss to University of Kansas, they still have a long way to go this season. Even in the previous two games, the final scores were too close. This is not anything new though, as Kentucky has faced this kind of uphill battle before in previous seasons.

The poor shooting against the Jayhawks with only a 41.8 field goal percentage is not exactly how you want to perform in a game. It was only slightly better in the previous game against the Vermont Catamounts with a 46.4 shooting percentage. Backpedaling instead of getting better is definitely something they do not need to do. The three-point shooting was even worse against Kansas, where they shot 23.1 percent, compared to 33.3 percent against the Catamounts.

Even the defense against Kansas was not as strong as it could have been. The Wildcats let the Jayhawks get too many offensive rebounds. Some of the put-back baskets Kansas made was because of Kentucky not crashing those eight offensive boards, which helped Kansas score. Luckily for them, it is just November, so there is time to improve. Wildcat fans should not panic just yet.

If they want any chance at making a run deep in the tournament in March, they will need to decrease the turnovers and learn to maintain control of the ball. Eighteen turnovers is far too many in one game. Despite having a better free throw percentage than the Jayhawks, the Wildcats' percentage was still too low. Free throws can kill a game, so any improvement on that would really help their chances, especially in those situations where the ball game could come down to those last few crucial free throws.

So, how will they perform in the NCAA Tournament in March? The possibility of the Wildcats making it to at least the Elite Eight is high, but that is only based on their potential. Since ball games are judged based on how a team executes, the Wildcats will need to bring all the heat if they want a chance at any success this season. As of right now, Kentucky would be lucky to make it past the first two rounds of the tournament if it were to start today.

Now, they do not have as big of a talent like last year’s team, but players like Kevin Knox and PJ Washington—who still needs to prove himself—could potentially turn into the leaders they need. Especially if Knox comes out every game and scores more than 20 points and if Washington can consistently crash the boards, as well as prevent opposing teams from scoring at the best of his abilities. Also, let's not forget Jarred Vanderbilt, who is still out with a foot injury. When he returns, his presence on the court should help them tremendously.

Will they turn it around anytime soon? Probably not. The Wildcats will slowly get better as time goes on. Head Coach John Calipari understands what it takes to turn a team around and make them into a real competitive team.

Realistically, they will finish in the top 25 in terms of the end of the season polls because no matter what anyone says, they have the talent. Kentucky is not completely awful, so even if they barely get by all season and do not turn it around until tournament time, they will still do well. This team has all the pieces for a deep run in the tournament.