Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Kentucky Wildcats may have already lost a game to the Michigan State Spartans this season to crush all of the early speculation about going all season undefeated, but that doesn’t mean that their National Championship hopes are out the window.
Kentucky bounced back after the tough loss by defeating the team that knocked them out of the NIT last season, the Robert Morris Colonials. The Wildcats tore the Colonials apart and led 44-20 at the half, eventually winning 87-49. Freshman Aaron Harrison had 28 points and was 10-of-10 from the free throw line in a game that saw 13 total Wildcats get minutes.
Last season, there were times where the Wildcats looked like they could lose to weaker opposition if Nerlens Noel or Archie Goodwin had a bad game, which they often did. Unlike last year, however, this team has five or six players that can carry the team by themselves.
Julius Randle was covered up for a majority of the game by the Colonial defense, and it didn’t matter. The Wildcats still found a way to score from all over the court. Kentucky let other teams know that if they try and stop their best player Randle, then someone else will step up and win the game.
Kentucky will only get better as the season goes on because their youth will get used to playing together. That should scare opposition after what the team almost did against the Spartans as a barely cohesive unit. This Wildcats looks like a team that should remain in the top-three despite a loss to Michigan State, and will definitely threaten for a National Championship as expected.
Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google.
