Making the case for the Kentucky Wildcats as a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament

Can John Calipari's team secure a one seed for March Madness?

Ahead of Saturday's home game against UNC-Wilmington, the Kentucky Wildcats sit at 6-1 on the season with a blowout win over the No. 8 ranked Miami Hurricanes, boosting their resume in the early part of the 2023-24 college basketball season.

The Wildcats nearly pulled off an upset over then No. 1 Kansas a few weeks ago and have dominated the majority of their contests so far this season - and they haven't even been at full strength as they await the returns of big men Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso from injuries and the potential addition of Zvonimir Ivisic if he is granted NCAA eligibility.

At this point, it's safe to say the ceiling for John Calipari's squad is about as high as it gets, and it's not at all unreasonable to believe this team could earn their first No. 1 seed since 2015 this March.

Kentucky's guard room is littered with talent, with freshmen DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard all looking like potential NBA draft picks, while veteran Antonio Reeves is averaging nearly 19 points per game on 44% shooting from three.

This team's ability to take care of the basketball (they lead the country in assist-to-turnover ratio) and shoot the rock make them extremely dangerous offensively, but they are also a quality defensive team and could improve even more in that area when Bradshaw - a highly regarded rim protector - returns in the not too distant future.

Purdue, Houston, UConn, and Arizona are all top ten teams at KenPom in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and teams like Kansas, Marquette, and Duke will heavily factor into the No. 1 seed conversation - but Kentucky has played like one of the ten best teams in the country in the first month of the season, and they aren't even in their final form.

In other words, it's okay for Big Blue Nation to start really dreaming about a championship trophy making its way back to Lexington this spring - because this team has the pieces to make it happen.

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