CBS college basketball analyst has Kentucky just inside preseason Top 25

Matt Norlander has the Kentucky Wildcats No. 21 in his preseason Top 101 list at CBS.

Andy Patton | Oct 25, 2023

CBS college basketball analyst has Kentucky just inside preseason Top 25 /

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Kentucky Wildcats

John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats are perhaps the most enigmatic college basketball team in the country heading into the 2023-24 season.

Some analysts believe the talent on this roster warrants a top 10 preseason ranking, while many others look at this team's inexperience and the amount of talent lost from last year and don't even have the Wildcats in the Top 25 - which should make Cal's squad one of the most intriguing teams to watch take the floor starting in November.

CBS analyst Matt Norlander took on the task of ranking 101 college basketball programs, just under 1/3 of all D1 teams, and he had Kentucky No. 21 overall and third in the SEC behind Texas A&M (6) and Tennessee (12).

Norlander is concerned about the team's defense, which was 68th in KenPom last year and lost Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace, but he believes in the talent coming back and the talent coming in as well.

"The return of Antonio Reeves (14.4 ppg) was massive," Norlander wrote. "Kentucky also was fortunate to land Tre Mitchell after he left WVU following Bob Huggins' ouster. Then there's the young'uns. The best of them is Justin Edwards, a small forward who should be in the mix as a top-five pick. D.J. Wagner will run the offense; he's been a well-publicized talent for three years at this point."

The SEC had 13 total teams in the top 101, with only South Carolina missing the cut. The order of teams, however, is proof that Norlander is not blindly following the many other media outlets who have made preseason projections, as there are some legitimate shockers in the order, which is as follows:

1. Texas A&M (6)

2. Tennessee (12)

3. Kentucky (21)

4. Alabama (29)

5. Missouri (35)

6. Florida (36)

7. Mississippi State (38)

8. Georgia (44)

9. Arkansas (47)

10. Auburn (49)

11. Ole Miss (69)

12. LSU (78)