As Kentucky looks to close out its 2022-23 season against Howard on Monday night at Rupp Arena, a pair of CBS Sports college basketball analysts have picked the Wildcats to win the national championship, with four of the five panelists projecting a UK final. Four.
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Matt Norlander and Kyle Boone picked John Calipari to win his second national title as Kentucky cut down the nets in Houston, while Gary Parrish and Jerry Palm have the Wildcats advancing to their first Final Four since 2015. David Cobb, whose Final Four consists of UCLA, Houston, Gonzaga and Baylor, were the only ones not to play UK in college basketball’s final weekend.
Norlander believes last season’s shocking loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to 15th-ranked Saint Peter’s will be a huge motivating factor that will fuel Kentucky throughout the season.
“Having Oscar Tshiebwe back is critical to making that happen. I believe his recent knee scope was simple and will not affect his NPOY candidacy. With Tshiebwe in the middle, Jacob Toppin is off to a breakout season. and Sahvir Wheeler will likely develop into one of the nation’s most consistent point guards, a strong 1-2 :3. Add CJ Fredrick’s 3-point shooting, Daimion Collins’ athleticism and Antonio Reeves’ scoring. Let’s cook. gas now,” Norlander wrote.
“And that’s before the NBA’s incoming freshman outfit picks: Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. This roster doesn’t look like a top-5 overall talent at UK since John Calipari got there, but I like the pieces and their potential. Fit. An elite defensive outfit with enough opportunities to shoot and score goals to play and beat any team. And after the loss to Saint Peter’s, the motivation quotient is overwhelming.”
The Wildcats enter the season as a consensus top-5 team, ranked No. 4 in both the preseason Associated Press Top 25 and the coaches’ poll. Kentucky is No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason efficiency ratings, and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Kentucky ranked No. 1. Sporting News ranked UK preseason No. 1.
Overall, UK returns 42.8% of the minutes, 44.3% of the points, 58.4% of the rebounds, 53.8% of the assists, 72.9% of the blocks and 50% of the steals from a team that spent much of the reason. was in the top 5 and won 26 games before suffering that stunning loss to Saint Peter’s to reach the Elite 8.
Although the 2021-22 season came to a disappointing end, Calipari produced the greatest single-season turnaround in school history that season, and the Wildcats (26-8) defeated North Carolina (29) and Kansas (18) — the two teams playing for the national championship — combined with 47 points.
Kentucky is ranked in the top 5 of the preseason AP Poll for the 11th time in 14 seasons during the Calipari era. The Wildcats will play a total of 10 games against top-25 preseason opponents, including five games against top-10 teams in the season.
