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5 Teams Kentucky wants to Avoid in the Tournament and Their Biggest Weakness

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The NCAA tournament is now less than one month away, let’s take a look at five teams that Kentucky needs to avoid for their best chance to win number 9.

1.Duke Blue Devils

The Mind-Blowing World of Kentucky ...

Kentucky is much more prepared to go against Duke if they were to meet for a second time, but it is still best to avoid them. Duke has the three most talented players in the country, and could very well all be top 5 picks in this year’s NBA draft. They are extremely athletic and pose a lot of matchup problems with Barrett and Zion. Both are quicker than Kentucky’s bigs and taller than our guards. Duke is also relentless on the offensive glass, ranking first in offensive rebounding percentage and offensive rebounds per game.

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Weakness-Perimeter shooting: Similar to Kentucky, Duke is a terrible perimeter shooting team outside of Cam Reddish, and are shooting 30.7% on the season. The Blue Devils score 26.1% of their points from distances, which is ranked 312th in the country. Syracuse was able to expose this weakness as Duke struggled with that Jim Boeheim zone, holding Duke to 20.9% 3P.

P.S. no team has ever won an NCAA championship shooting under 31% 3P, Duke shoots 30.7%

2. Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is truly a team that lives and dies by the three-point shots, which can be very dangerous or very regretful come March. The Hokies score 40.4% of their points from behind the arc. Kentucky’s perimeter defense is much improved from the beginning of the season and is continuing to improve but the Cats still allow opponents to shoot 35.1% from three, which is 209th in the country. With one of the best backcourts in the country, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Justin Robinson. The Hokies are dangerous come March.

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Weakness-Don’t get to the line: Shooting so many of your shots from three comes with a price, not getting to the free throw line. The Hokies shoot only 39.3% of their shots around the rim and only get 17% of their points from the charity stripe.

3. Houston 

Houston has not been taken seriously this season, and have been really overlooked. Houston is ranked as the nations 18th most efficient team with one of the nations best defenses and they have two of the best guards in the country that can light it up from outside in Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks.

Weakness-Size: Houston only has one player over 6-5 that plays more than 14 mpg. If they meet Kentucky, the Cougars would really struggle against the size and physicality of the four-headed Kentucky frontcourt.

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4. Florida State

Florida State has been a rollercoaster this season. The Seminoles have plenty of size and athleticism that allows them to force turnovers, something that Kentucky has struggled with this season. Even with their ups and downs, they are a balanced team and are currently ranked as the 20th most efficient team, according to KenPom. FSU has shown the ability to exploit the opponent’s biggest weakness. Beat Syracuse’s zone by shooting 50 percent from three. Beating Louisville with a plus-15 turnover margin. In an overtime win over LSU, FSU had 22 offensive rebounds to the LSU’s 4.

Weakness-Sloppiness: Florida State can cause turnovers but they have struggled to keep care of the ball this season. Averaging 14 turnovers a game this season, the Seminoles are 250th in the country in that regard.

5.Marquette

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One of the best shooting teams in the country with one of the best players in the country in Markus Howard. Marquette shoots 39.6% from three on the season which is 7th best in the country. Markus Howard is a scoring machine and is averaging 25.6 ppg as the fourth highest scorer in the country. Howard is capable of exploding at any time, scoring 40 in one half earlier this season. Marquette also has a top-40 defense held together by
Theo John and Sacar Anim.

Weakness-Turnovers and Transition: Marquette averages 13.6 turnovers per game, and rank 212th in that regard. Marquette ranks in the bottom 85% nationally when it comes to surrendering fast-break attempts. Turning the ball over and poor transition defense practically gives the opposing team points.

Each team on this list is dangerous. However, the only team on this list that I am not somewhat confident Kentucky would win is Duke, just due to matchups. However, they are still skilled enough to beat them. Kentucky has just a good of a chance at the title than any team in the country. You never know what’s going to happen, its called March Madness for a reason.

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Men's Basketball

John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

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John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

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On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

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“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

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It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

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Men's Basketball

Mitch Barnhart Speaks On John Calipari Coming Back As Kentucky Basketball Coach, “He Will Return”

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Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will return as Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach.
Mike Weaver/Special to the Courier Journal

After days of speculation, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will be back, coaching his 16th season for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two had a conversation at Barnhart’s farm on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said in a statement.

While there was some fan outcry for a head coaching change, there was no real indication that a change would be made.

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Barnhart was put in a difficult situation. Calipari has not led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but he is one of just a few active Hall of Fame coaches. With no clear option as a replacement, Barnhart decided to retain Calipari for another season.

Kentucky Insider has been told that Tuesday’s meeting between the two was “good”, despite some disagreement. As a result of the meeting, there will be some expected changes in the program, specifically some staff changes, and changes in day-to-day operations.

On Monday, Calipari recognized his shortcomings and closed out his show with a commitment to the Kentucky fans:

“That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work… That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

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Calipari is set to meet with players individually on Wednesday to discuss their stay/go decisions. The process of rebuilding next year’s roster (and staff) begins now.

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Men's Basketball

John Calipari Makes A Commitment to Kentucky Fans, “I’m Going to Work”

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John Calipari at Kentucky men’s basketball practice.
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last week, there has been speculation on whether the program would move on from head coach John Calipari, who has failed to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019.

Now four days later, there has still been no official statement from either Calipari or the Athletic Department. That said, Calipari spoke on his season-ending radio show on Monday and it certainly sounded like a man who expects and wants to be coaching at Kentucky next season.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place. Of course, to many, those are empty words when the results have not been there.

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Calipari closed his show by making a commitment to the fanbase. “That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on,” Calipari said. “The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work. That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

Calipari is expected to meet with Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon, as he does annually after the season. A lot still weighs on the meeting, but it is expected that Calipari will return. It seems to be heading for a be-all-end-all season for Calipari.

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