Kentucky trending as a title pick, up to a No. 2 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology

This Kentucky Basketball team is making believers out of even the program’s biggest haters. Last week, four of six CBS Sports analysts picked Kentucky to make the Final Four for the first time since 2015. After Kentucky scored over 100 points vs. Georgia and Zvonimir Ivisic made his Disney-like debut, more national media members are jumping on the Big Blue Bandwagon.

On Sunday, Nick Roush shared what Jeff Goodman, Myron Medcalf, Jon Rothstein, Matt Norlander, and Seth Davis were saying about the Cats following the very fun win over the Bulldogs. Add Doug Gottlieb to the Kentucky fan club. In a podcast with Goodman, Gottlieb went off about the NCAA taking so long to clear Big Z and raved about Kentucky’s potential with him in the rotation.

“I don’t know if he’ll replicate [his debut] but it doesn’t matter. They have so many options out there. It’s not that he has to be able to shoot and hit threes. It’s the threat of it. It’s not that he has to block shots. It’s just the threat of it. And he’s playing at a high level overseas. None of this stuff really rattles him at all.

“So, here are my chips and I put them into the middle [on Kentucky]. And let me tell you why. What does no one have in college basketball? No one’s got pros…the ‘dudes’ are overseas, Overtime, G-League, but Kentucky has DUDES. Dudes. And they’ve got enough veterans. I like them. These are my chips. I’m going in on Kentucky.”

.@GottliebShow Doug Gottlieb is putting in all of his chips in on Kentucky #BBN pic.twitter.com/VMBresicFM

— Nick McCardell (@UKhoops1_BBN) January 22, 2024

The Athletic’s CJ Moore is also high on Kentucky, tabbing the Cats as one of six teams with the best chance to win the national title along with Purdue, UConn, Auburn, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Obviously, Kentucky’s defense leaves a lot to be desired, but Moore believes the addition of Ivisic could help.

“Ken Pomeroy’s database goes back to 1999 tracking per-possession statistics. Over that time period, the worst defense to win a national title ranked No. 22. Kentucky currently ranks 73rd. But guarding the Cats will make you dizzy. John Calipari has speed and shooting, and he just added a super-skilled 7-foot-2 center who can bury 3s and looked a little like Arvydas Sabonis with his passing in his debut on Saturday when he went for 13 points, five boards, two assists, two steals and three blocks in only 16 minutes. Zvonimir Ivisic, or Big Z, is his name, and it’s possible he’s changed the calculus with Kentucky. If Big Z and his rim protection can help the defense, then this is a title contender.”

In a conversation with John Clay, former Bryan Station star turned CBS Sports Network commentator Shelvin Mack said Kentucky is one of his favorites to win it all, along with UConn, calling the Cats and the Huskies the “most complete teams” in college basketball.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.

Jerry Palm moves Kentucky up to the No. 2 seed line

The addition of Big Z didn’t impress Joe Lunardi enough to bump Kentucky up a seed line. The Cats remain a No. 3 seed in Lunardi’s latest Bracketology for ESPN, while North Carolina, whom Kentucky beat in the CBS Sports Classic, is now on the No. 1 seed line. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm also put the Tar Heels on the top seed line and moved the Cats up too. In his latest bracket, Kentucky is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region opposite No. 1 seed Purdue.

Why isn’t Kentucky trending higher in Bracketology? We’ve talked about this a few times, but the Cats’ weak non-conference schedule has killed their resume thus far, including the loss to UNC Wilmington. Kentucky has only played in four Quad 1 games (going 2-2), by far the least among the teams on the projected top three seed lines. Miami, a top ten team when the Cats beat them in Rupp, is now No. 64 in the NET Rankings, putting that win in Quad 2. Louisville is so bad that the win over the Cards will probably wind up in Quad 4.

The good news is Kentucky can easily make up ground in the second half of the season. Seven of the remaining 14 games are in Quad 1, including tonight’s contest at South Carolina. The Cats can pick up a Quad 1 win each week from now until the SEC Tournament. Time to build that resume.