There was not a team in the entire country that was more disappointing this season than the Kentucky Wildcats. They started out ranked No. 3 in the nation, only to end the season without a berth in the NCAA tournament. On top of that, the Wildcats even lost in the first round of the NIT to the Robert Morris Colonials. In the 2013-2014 season, things will be different.
Archie Goodwin, Ryan Harrow and Nerlens Noel may be gone, but Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kyle Wiltjer will return for Kentucky. The Wildcats won the NCAA tournament the year after they had a few of their talented Freshmen stay in school, and this will be their situation in the 2013-2014 season.
John Calipari will have one of the top recruiting classes in the country, as always. The talent that he continuously brings to the Wildcats, along with the returning players, will lead Kentucky to be the best team in the SEC and should lead them to a No. 1 overall preseason ranking nationally.
There isn’t a team in the SEC that can compete with Kentucky’s recruiting and player star power, and the Wildcats look like they will be capable of having a season like they did in 2011-2012 where they only lost two games all season long. The SEC will be more talented as a whole than it has been in a long time, but it will take a special team to be able to defeat the Wildcats next season.
Expect Kentucky to win the SEC and at least get a No. 1 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
