LEXINGTON – Score one for preseason predictions.
For the first time in 10 years, a panel of reporters covering Southeastern Conference teams decided not to pick Kentucky as the preseason SEC men’s basketball favorite in November. But it is doubtful anyone on that panel could have predicted just how far the Wildcats would fall by the time the SEC slate opened.
John Calipari’s team opens SEC play on Saturday at Mississippi State having lost its last six games. The Wildcats’ 1-6 start is the program’s worst since 1927.
Meanwhile, the media’s preseason favorite pick — Tennessee — has looked as advertised after a delayed start to the season due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.