CBS Sports picks Kentucky to finish third in the SEC

With one week until the official start of college basketball, national outlets continue to roll out their season previews. Last week, ESPN picked Kentucky to finish first in the SEC. Yesterday, CBS Sports’ panel of hoops writers unveiled their SEC predictions and they aren’t quite as rosy.

The group (Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, Kyle Boone, David Cobb, and Jerry Palm) voted Kentucky to finish third in the league behind Alabama and Arkansas. When you look at the vote breakdown, not a single writer picked the Cats to finish first; in fact, Boone and Cobb have Kentucky in fourth place. Here’s their reasoning:

“The Wildcats were a disaster last season and arguably the biggest disappointment in the sport. They started ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 poll — but finished a surprisingly bad 9-16. They had no quality point guards and not enough reliable shooters, which is why they had a turnover rate that ranked 217th nationally and a 3-point percentage that ranked 172nd.”

Ouch, but all true. The panel then details John Calipari’s backcourt revamp, namely Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady, and CJ Frederick.

“So what did John Calipari do? He responded by enrolling multiple point guards and multiple shooters. He added Sahvir Wheeler, a point guard who transferred from Georgia after averaging 14.0 points and a conference-best 7.4 assists last season. He added TyTy Washington, a five-star point guard who projects as a one-and-done lottery pick. He added Kellan Grady, a 6-5 combo guard who averaged at least 17.0 points in four straight years at Davidson and shot 38.2% from beyond the arc last season. He added C.J. Frederick, a shooting guard who transferred from Iowa after shooting 47.4% from 3-point range last season. Combine those four newcomers with West Virginia transfer Oscar Tschiebwe and returnees Davion Mintz and Keion Brooks, and Calipari clearly has the pieces for a big bounce-back season that could culminate with his first trip to the Final Four since 2015.”

Even though the group voted Alabama to finish first in the SEC, they also named the Crimson Tide the most overrated team in the league. Parrish notes that’s because Alabama is fourth in the SEC in the KenPom ratings. Now feels like an appropriate time to note that Alabama only won its exhibition game vs. Louisiana by five points.

Let’s get this ball rolling and find out for certain.