ESPN predicts Kentucky's ceiling in the NCAA Tournament

What is Kentucky's ceiling in the NCAA Tournament?

Coach John Calipari has been saying for months that the Kentucky Wildcats are made for March, but an early exit from the SEC Tournament has some concerned. 

The Wildcats just found out their bracket for the NCAA Tournament, and they will start things off against Oakland. After this game, assuming Kentucky gets the win, Coach Calipari's team will play either Texas Tech or NC State. The Wildcats have a manageable path to get out of the first weekend, but then, after this, it will get tough. Kentucky will likely play Marquette in the Sweet 16 and Houston in the Elite Eight if they make it that far. 

An article on ESPN precited the ceiling for the teams in the field of 68 and it had the Wildcats ceiling being National Champions. This shows that national media believes the Wildcats can still make a run despite the ugly loss to Texas A&M and the defensive concerns. 

Myron Medcalf of ESPN had this to say about the Wildcats in his article, "This is the team every opposing coach in America hoped they wouldn't see in their region. Antonio Reeves (20.0 PPG, 44.1% from 3) should be an All-American. In ESPN's latest NBA mock draft, freshmen Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are top-five picks -- who have come off the bench for most of the season. From their Feb. 10 loss to Gonzaga to the end of the regular season -- which included beating Auburn and Alabama by 37 points combined -- the Wildcats connected on 57% of their 2s and 42% of their 3s, per barttorvik.com. More compelling however is that this team, which has played sub-100 defense for lengthy stretches of the season, was 53rd in adjusted defensive efficiency in those games. In other words: the Wildcats can play good defense when they decide to play good defense."

The Wildcats have proven time and time again that they will play well against good teams, beating North Carolina, Auburn, and Tennessee. Against better teams, the Wildcats seem to have a lot more intensity on defense, so hopefully, in the tournament, the team steps it up. 

With the offensive firepower this team has, they can make a run, but the defense needs to be better, or Kentucky could head home early.