Starting off the college basketball season as one of the top 10 ranked teams was the Kentucky Wildcats. They began the season against the Michigan State Spartans, with high expectations for the season. The Wildcats upset the Spartans 69-62, to start off the season 1-0. On November 8, 2019, Kentucky faced on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. The Wildcats handled their business at Rupp Arena, winning 91-49. After both of those wins in the first week, Kentucky became the number 1 ranked team in college basketball.
Being the number 1 team isn’t always easy, because even they lose sometimes. The Evansville Aces were in town as they took on the Wildcats, being the number 1 team. The Aces had one of the biggest upsets of the year, beating the Wildcats 67-64. It was a game that was talked about weeks after the upset. The next week, Kentucky dropped down in rankings because of the loss to Evansville, an unranked team. But they didn’t let that loss get to their heads. They kept pushing themselves and they practiced every day and they came back better.
On November 18, 2019, the Wildcats took on the Utah Valley Wolverines. The Wildcats beat the Wolverines, pushing their record to 3-1. As the season went on, the Wildcats have gotten better. They still have room to grow because they are a young team, but they are on the right track for a good run in March. The Kentucky Wildcats traveled to Las Vegas to take on the Utah Utes in the first of two games IN Las Vegas. The Utes barely got the win, 69-66. A few days later in Las Vegas, the Wildcats were back to play the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both the Wildcats and the Buckeyes were ranked. The Wildcats lost a close one to the Buckeyes, 71-65. Next game, the biggest rival Louisville Cardinals came to Rupp Arena to play in a battle of the bluegrass state. The Wildcats and Cardinals have one of the biggest rivalries in college basketball. It was a hard-fought, physical game all the way until the buzzer. In overtime, the Wildcats beat the Cardinals, 78-70.
As the season has progressed, the Cats have grown from how they started in the beginning. They have so much young talent and so much other talent on the team. They have so much potential and they just keep getting better each game. One of their young freshman, Tyrese Maxey, currently leads the team in averaged points per game, with 13.9. One of the leaders on the team is junior Nick Richards, who leads the team in averaged rebounds per game with 7.7 and averaged blocks per game, with 2.3. A returning sophomore guard, Ashton Hagans leads the team in averaged assists per game, with 7.3 and he also leads the team in averaged steals per game, with 2.2. They are currently ranked number 10 in the AP Top 25 poll and they have a 12-4 overall record, with a 3-1 SEC record.