NCAA Basketball Kentucky WildcatsSEC Basketball

Kentucky’s Struggles In SEC Play Due To Strength of Conference, Not Lack of Focus

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By @TSturmRS

Kentucky basketball

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

To start the 2014-15 college basketball season, the Kentucky Wildcats dominated non-conference opponents, including a 32-point win over the Kansas Jayhawks, 20-point win over the Providence Friars and 29-point win over the UCLA Bruins. Speculation ran wild that this team could beat the Philadelphia 76ers or, more recently, the New York Knicks, but one thing everyone agrees on is that this Kentucky team has several players who will make it at the next level.

The Wildcats entered SEC play allowing less than 50 points per game and with lofty expectations of running away with the conference regular season title without breaking a sweat against an SEC slate that was noticeably lacking when it came to returning talent.

However, that’s not at all what happened.

Through five SEC games, Kentucky has gone to overtime in two of them and recently only defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores by eight points at home. The Wildcats have not looked like the dominant team that many expected them to be coming into conference play.

Their struggles have been met with criticisms like “they’re overlooking their opponents,” “they seem lackadaisical” and “they’re a young team.” But no one is pointing out the obvious.

The SEC is just that good.

Yes, you read that correctly; and no, I’m not crazy or biased. The SEC is the most difficult conference in college basketball based on RPI rankings.

The Wildcats, Ole Miss Rebels, Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, LSU Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks, Texas A&M Aggies and Alabama Crimson Tide are all ranked in the top 50 RPI. That’s more than every other conference in college basketball, and what’s crazy is that the preseason No. 2 SEC team, the Florida Gators, aren’t even in the top 70. Three teams picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference by the preseason media poll have a top 50 RPI.

It’s an affront to college basketball that the conference still only has one ranked team in the AP Poll despite being the conference with the most teams ranked in the top 50 RPI. However, the SEC is used to being coddled during the football season and mostly ignored during the basketball season — something that gives these teams added motivation.

So as everyone is asking “what’s wrong with Kentucky”, the real question should be “how could everyone have underestimated the SEC this much?”

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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