Why Kentucky basketball is in position to win the SEC. It's not the same John Calipari plan.
There were some questions whether John Calipari’s strategy would pay off.
Normally, he has mostly relied on procuring as much as the top talent in America as he could and they would spend one season at Kentucky on their way to the NBA as if Lexington, Kentucky, was a stopover to change planes to their final destination.
This season, he decided to take advantage of the new NCAA rule that allows transfers to be eligible immediately. As if gathering fruit in the produce section at the supermarket, Calipari did it in bunches. It was no half measure. He brought in big man Oscar Tshiebwe from West Virginia, Kellan Grady from Davidson, Sahvir Wheeler from Georgia, C.J. Fredrick from Iowa and Davion Mintz from Creighton. Except for the injured Frederick, they have formed the nucleus of this season’s Wildcats.
As the calendar turned to January, the verdict of the relative success of the strategy was still in doubt. There were plenty of victories against weaker competition, mostly at Rupp Arena, a big victory over North Carolina in Las Vegas, but not enough to prove anything.
Last week, however, something changed as men’s college basketball fans in Tennessee witnessed. The Wildcats beat Vanderbilt 78-66 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score, and then absolutely crushed Tennessee 107-79.
Calipari has tightened his rotation, relying on a smaller group but a group that is quickly evolving into one that could win the SEC championship and maybe even a national championship.
The transfers are the main reason, starting with the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Tshiebwe, who’s averaging 16.5 points per game and a nation-leading 14.9 rebounds. If he keeps this up, he’ll be a first-team All-American.
Grady is the team’s best outside shooter with 11.8 points per game fueled by 45% 3-point shooting. Mini-guard Wheeler has become the accelerator that makes this engine churn. He averages 11.8 points and 7.3 assists.
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There is, of course, also one of the top freshmen in the country and that’s guard Tyty Washington, who averages 14.5 points but is also rapidly becoming a player who can change a game single-handedly.
When they’ve won, the Wildcats have won big, they lead the nation in scoring margin at 20.9. Uplifted by Tshiebwe’s relentless pounding of the backboards, they lead the nation in rebound margin at 14.3. They are fourth in overall shooting percentage (50.5) and even 3-point shooting, a weakness of many recent teams, is decent at 36.1% .
Despite the recent success, Kentucky is not the best team in the SEC. Auburn is. Kentucky will have a chance to change that when the Wildcats travel to Auburn on Saturday. A victory there will truly indicate Calipari has a national championship contender.
Auburn, which is ranked No. 2 in the country, is having an unexpectedly great season that’s also sparked by transfers and the play of 6-10 Jabari Smith, arguably the best freshman in the country.
Both two teams seem to be separating themselves from the rest of the league. Tennessee has not been able to keep pace w and played poorly in a loss at LSU. Still, the Vols will have their chances. They need to establish some consistency. If they can do that, they have a legitimate chance at a third-place finish.
Potentially, the Vols are better than the crowd of teams grouped under Auburn and Kentucky.
Texas A&M is 15-2 and 4-0 but is a bit of a mirage because of a glut of home games. Alabama (struggling defensively) and Arkansas (maybe just overrated) have been disappointing. Florida and Mississippi State are a cut below Tennessee.
Vanderbilt, with a good road win at Georgia last week, is no longer the worst team in the league. It’s possible the Commodores could finish ahead of Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi and South Carolina, but it would take some improvement and possibly the return of injured players Liam Parsons and Rodney Chatman.
Over in the Ohio Valley Conference
In all the early season hype around Belmont, maybe I forgot how good Murray State can be. The Racers’ 82-60 obliteration of Belmont last Saturday is not really a true measure between the two teams, but it did emphatically establish the Racers as the team to beat in the OVC. Beating Murray State in the OVC Tournament is probably the Bruins only avenue into the NCAA Tournament.
Murray has a great group of guards led by junior Tevin Brown, a smooth, smart player who calmly contributes to many winning aspects of the game. Point guard Justice Hill probably won’t repeat the 36-point effort he had against Belmont, but he is a solid player. The Racers have great balance, too, with an outstanding big man in 6-10 junior K.J. Williams.
Belmont is in a slump especially big man Nick Muszynski, who has struggled in two recent games. Coach Casey Alexander needs to get Muszynski going.
Lipscomb sinking fast
The Bisons are 8-11 and have lost three in as row. All three losses were eerily similar. Against, Jacksonville they lead by 20 with 15:30 left in the game. Against Central Arkansas they had an 11-point lead with 12:14 left. Against Bellarmine, they had a 10-point lead in the first half.
Joe Sullivan can be reached at josephsullivan1974@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeSullivan.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Kentucky basketball is in position to win the SEC
