The Kentucky Wildcats were defeated by No. 1 Florida in the SEC Tournament and they now enter March Madness with uncertain predictions on how far they can go, given how they have been inconsistent all season.
The Wildcats will face Santa Clara on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ahead of their matchup at Rupp Arena, NBA legend and basketball analyst Charles Barkley predicted how far Kentucky would go in March Madness.
According to Barkley, it’d be a “great season” for Kentucky if they managed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
“Well, I’ve got some bad news for you tomorrow,” Barkley said. “If y’all can make it to the second weekend, that’d be a great season… I don’t see Kentucky making a deep run.”
Despite predicting the downfall of Kentucky, Barkley is rooting for Wildcats assistant coach Mark Fox.
“But if they could get there, can I root for Coach Fox? He’s my guy. I know he’s not the head coach, but he’s my guy,” Barkley added.
Charles Barkley also compared Kentucky’s fan base to those of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.
“But I would love to see Kentucky, man,” Barkley said. “They probably have the best fan base. They’re like the Steelers or the Packers, their fans travel like pack rats. So, you know, the Big Blue Nation is going to have some fans. But if they could get to the second weekend, that would be a great season. But they’ve been inconsistent all year.”
Kentucky Wildcats NCAA Tournament Preview
Kentucky enters the NCAA Tournament as the seventh seed in the Midwest Region. Their first round opponent is No. 10 Santa Clara in St. Louis. Santa Clara is a 26–8 team and is coming off a strong West Coast Conference season. Analysts warn this is “tougher than it looks” despite Kentucky being the higher seed.
Kentucky’s go-to scoring option is Otega Oweh, a clutch scorer who has most recently led the way in the win against Missouri. The program’s downside has been inconsistency, which even Barkley pointed out as one major reason why the program won’t make a deep run in March Madness.
If they win, Kentucky will likely face No. 2 seed Iowa State next.
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