ESPN College Basketball Insider predicts UK lands Oscar Tshiebwe

[caption id="attachment_244832" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images[/caption] ESPN College Basketball Insider Jeff Borzello is 50 percent confident UK lands Oscar Tshiebwe but picked Isaiah Stewart to go to Michigan State. However, he's only 35 percent confident that Stewart ends up in green-and-white. Borzello notes that Kentucky is making a recent push for Stewart, but said Michigan State had the most buzz exiting the summer and that's why he thinks he ends up playing for Tom Izzo. But Borzello does pick the Cats to land Tshiebwe despite saying WVU might have the "upper-hand". The 6-foot-9, 250-pound center is thought to be a heavy WVU lean. The Mountaineers have 90 percent of the picks in the Crystal Ball, but sources close to KSR say the Cats are the team to beat at this point. Both Stewart and Tshiebwe will officially visit Kentucky this weekend. This is a fun exercise and two things stand out in my opinion:

• Brozello isn't quite buying into the Stewart to UK hype just yet. He said he feels 35 percent confident with his Stewart to Michigan State pick, which shows he doesn't feel great about it, but this expert doesn't think he's UK-bound like others. Obviously things are moving in the right direction but the Cats will need to put on a show for Stewart this weekend to make up for months of not recruiting him.
• Borzello goes against the grain with Tshiebwe. Some of the most respected national analyst are picking Tshiebwe to WVU, but not Borzello. 50 percent confidence doesn't scream a lock, but it's positive news.

FWIW, I said on Monday I think UK lands Tshiebwe. As of today I still think that's the case and it's incredibly tough to ignore the Stewart buzz. I do need to look into if those two have any interest in playing with one another, but so far I haven't heard anything to make me think they would have any issues. Maybe they can become buds this weekend? Later in the article Borzell predicts former UK commit DJ Jeffries to Memphis with 45 percent confidence. The Cats are no longer recruiting Jeffreis. You can read the entire Insider article HERE. [mobile_ad]