SteemSports Presenter:
@hogan22
SteemSports Editor:
@scottybuckets
One of the best programs in the history of college basketball has been the Kentucky Wildcats. Year after year they are in the top 10 and a threat to win the National Championship. No team in the country has won more games than the Wildcats with 2,237 total wins. The have won 8 National Championships with their last one being in 2012. They have made the Final 4 seventeen times. And they have only missed March Madness twice in the last 24 years. But this year might be the third.
Head coach John Calipari is one of the best coaches of all time. The 59 year old has been at Kentucky since 2009 and has embraced the “One and Done” college athlete. He has openly told his recruits that it is his job to get them to the NBA to make LIFE CHANGING money. He is one of the few coaches that is publicly honest about that as opposed to talking about academics. But every year as he loses the most talented freshman class in the country to the NBA, he has to replace them with more studs. This year it has not been so easy.
The freshman class has not meshed together like his previous ones. They are struggling to find their identity and it is showing on the court. Kentucky lost their 4th straight game last night when they fell 76-66 at the Auburn Tigers. They are all the way down to 8th place in the SEC and that spells BIG trouble. At 6-7 in conference play, they are in danger of finishing the regular season below .500. That would equate to no March Madness for the Wildcats. The NCAA Tournament Committee hates teams that can’t be at or above .500 in conference play.
Kentucky has 5 SEC games left to turn things around. They play next on Saturday at home vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide who are tied for third place and 8-5. This game has enormous implications on the remainder of the season.
Freshman Kevin Knox is leading the team in scoring at 15 points per game. But it has been a mixed bag for Knox over their last 4 loses. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has also been inconsistent in his play and only had 9 points last night. These two are the leaders of this young team and they need to step up their play immediately or this season will be over a lot faster than any of their fans will hope for.
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