Kentucky vs. Other Championship Capable Teams

[caption id="attachment_152147" align="alignnone" width="600"] Mark Zerof - USA Today Sports[/caption] To start the season, expectations were as large as they had been in Cal’s tenure at Kentucky. After a few losses, people went with the “they’re young, they will get it together.” As the season is now winding down and the Cats still haven’t molded into the perfect team as most expected, some doubt has surfaced about whether this team will ever get it together. When you look at where Kentucky is at this point compared to some other teams with serious National Championship aspirations, it shows the Cats are still very much alive as they compare with other college basketball powerhouses.   #1 Syracuse (25-1) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 6-0 Big Wins: #8 Villanova, #17 Duke, #22 Pittsburgh Losses: Boston College Last 10 Games: 9-1       #2 Florida (24-2) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 3-2 Big Wins: #13 Kansas, #15 Memphis, #14 Kentucky Losses: #20 Wisconsin, #12 Connecticut Last 10 Games: 10-0       #4 Arizona (24-2) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 1-0 Big Wins: #6 Duke, @ UCLA Losses: @ California, @ Arizona State Last 10 Games: 8-2       #5 Duke (21-5) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 2-3 Big Wins: #22 Michigan, @ #18 Pittsburgh Losses: @ Notre Dame, @ Clemson Last 10 Games: 9-1       #8 Kansas (20-6) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 6-3 Big Wins: #4 Duke, @ #8 Iowa State, #9 Oklahoma State Losses: @ #25 Texas, @ Kansas State Last 10 Games: 8-2       #13 Michigan State (21-5) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 3-1 Big Wins: #1 Kentucky, #3 Ohio State, @ #15 Iowa Losses: @ Wisconsin, Nebraska Last 10 Games: 6-4       #18 Kentucky (20-6) Record vs. Ranked Teams: 1-4 Big Wins: #6 Louisville, @ Missouri Losses: @ Arkansas, @ LSU Last 10 Games: 8-2   As the numbers show, Kentucky is still in the thick of things with the nation’s other prominent programs. No, they don’t have as impressive of a résumé as Kansas or Syracuse, but you have to consider a few things.   In comparison to Kansas, the Cats haven’t had the opportunity to play ranked teams every week to help build the résumé Kansas has accumulated. Kentucky has played only five ranked teams this season. Factor in their overwhelming youth in losses to veteran teams like Michigan State and Florida and the losses don’t seem so severe. In addition, the losses Kentucky has had can all be attributed to youth and inexperience. In every loss, you can point to a few situations where a veteran team would have persisted and weathered the storm. The difference for Kentucky is they have a lot of 18-year-old kids who are used to dominating and haven’t spent much time in close-game situations. I can comfortably say if this same roster weren’t as youthful, Kentucky would have no more than two losses.   On the other hand, Syracuse has a 7-man rotation with only one freshman in it. Compare that to Kentucky who features an all-freshmen starting five with their biggest bench contributors being sophomores. The extra experience and understanding of the game that Syracuse has is the missing piece for Kentucky. With that, the Cats could easily be the top team in college basketball.   This isn’t a post about why Kentucky is the best team in the nation, or why we will win a championship this season. Rather, I’m just pointing out the numbers to show there is much reason for optimism to close out the season. Kentucky is still in the mix with elite teams and will continue to be throughout March. With the inexperience of this team and the recent growth they have shown, it’s way too early to get our hopes down on their championship chances. Cal has assembled the youngest, yet most talented team in college basketball and every game they could be getting one step closer to reaching that championship level. This team has a great chance to get it before it’s too late.   @CodyDanielKSR