After playing a number of exhibition games and the first two games of the regular season against easy competition, the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats will finally play a ranked opponent in the 2023 Champions Classic, albeit short-handed.
The upcoming opponent for Kentucky is no ordinary ranked team; it’s the formidable No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks.
Much like Kentucky, Kansas boasts the return of four scholarship players from the previous season, with the distinction that three of these players are starters. Strengthening their roster, the Jayhawks welcomed four Top 100 recruits, headlined by the impressive top-20 guard Elmarko Jackson. Additionally, the team added four transfers, featuring three ranked in 247 Sports’ top-50 transfers.
Kentucky recently regained the lead for all-time wins this summer, totaling 2377 compared to Kansas’ 2370, courtesy of the NCAA’s investigation into the Jayhawks. The upcoming matchup presents an opportunity for the Wildcats to extend this lead by one more game. However, entering the game as 4.5-point underdogs, as per DraftKings, suggests a challenging contest for Kentucky against the top-ranked Kansas team.
This Kentucky team has the personnel to be one of the best transition offense teams that John Calipari has coached. However, their transition defense will be tested against Kansas.
In their first two games of the season, the Jayhawks have put up back-to-back 99-point scoring performances, in large part due to their ability to play fast. Both of these games have been against sub-300 KenPom teams, allowing Kansas to dominate with their athleticism. But that athleticism gap won’t be there against Kentucky.
The best defense for the Wildcats is not to make mistakes. Even with a freshmen team, Kentucky has only turned the ball over nine times through two games this season, the second-best mark in the country. Kansas has also often turned long rebounds and blocked shots into run-outs, so it will be key to sprint back. the regular season against
KU’s half-court offense hasn’t looked great early. If Kentucky can limit transition opportunities and force them to score in the half-court, the Wildcats have the offensive firepower to match and maybe even win.