Seth Greenberg: Kentucky has grown up in the last few weeks

Kentucky has re-established its argument for a top-four seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament in recent weeks heading into Saturday’s matchup against Arkansas.

Currently ranked No. 20 in the NET, boasting five Quad 1 wins and slotted as Joe Lunardi’s No. 13 overall seed with a 20-8 overall record. According to ESPN College GameDay host Seth Greenberg, the Wildcats made massive strides in February and should be a team to keep an eye on in March.

“When you look this Kentucky team, they’ve grown up in the last few weeks,” Greenberg said. “And they grew up in Mississippi State. They go to Mississippi State and started the game. Bam! They get punched in the face. They make a little run, they get back in the game. Wagner makes a big three at the end of the half to get into the second half. They get punched in the face. You know what happened? They responded.

“… They have a collective responsibility. They celebrate each other. They appreciate what each other brings to the table — whether it’s Antonio Reeves, whether it’s Justin Edwards, whether it’s Reed Shepard. They have a lot of dudes and you know you always say? The team with the most students usually finds a way to win.”

GameDay co-host Andraya Carter pointed out the fact that Tre Mitchell has missed multiple games with injury — and could have been a major contributing factor that could’ve helped the Wildcats defeat LSU a couple of weeks back. Instead, UK lost at the buzzer and Mitchell has been left on the sideline. He will play Saturday against Arkansas, though.

Still, Kentucky hasn’t had a full lineup for an entire game all season long. Less than 20 minutes against Gonzaga on Feb. 10 was all UK has been allowed a full lineup.

Other players continue to step up in the absence of their teammates. Ugonna Onyenso and Adou Thiero being the two biggest instances of improvements on John Calipari’s roster in 2024. Fellow co-host Jay Bilas believes fact that Kentucky has that much depth, and that any player can have a big night on any given occasion as the reason for their massive scoring totals this season.

“They’re gonna drop 85 to 90 [points] every night,” Greenberg agreed. “They’ve got to improve their on ball defense and their ball screen defense. They’ve just got to be basically doing the tough things more consistently. If they do that, they’re a problem.”

Bilas agreed, saying a 10-15% increase in defensive improvements is all Kentucky needs to make a deep run in March.

Whether Kentucky can attain that level of defensive efficiency remains to be seen, but the Wildcats will be looking to limit the opportunities they give Arkansas on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET live on CBS.