Preseason rankings mean very little to how a team actually pans out, beyond giving a baseline idea as to the objective talent a team has pooled. Take, for example, Mark Pope’s last two Kentucky teams: 2024-25 saw the preseason No. 23 Wildcats end up as a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a second weekend appearance. The following season, in 2025-26, Pope’s No. 9 ranked team went on to 14 losses and a second-round bounce. You never really know, you know?
For the coming season, a rough week of recruiting has given way to a Cats team in the middle of the previous two outlooks. Per Jon Rothstein’s latest power ranking update, Coach Pope’s third Kentucky team slots in at a projected No. 15. Not quite doubted, but not quite elite, either.
Had Kentucky landed either Nikola Kusturica or Marcus Spears Jr. last week – two top targets that have skyrocketed both UCLA and Texas, respectively – we’d almost certainly have seen the Wildcats break back into that nationally competitive expectation…