There are a number of confusing teams in college basketball — none more so than Kentucky. Undeniably, the Wildcats are the most bewildering.
Saturday provided the latest example.
Final score: UK 117, Alabama 95.
Just three days after losing 75-74 at LSU, the Wildcats shot 63.1% from the field en route to a 22-point blowout of an Alabama team that entered with the sport's highest-ranked offense plus sole possession of first place in the SEC standings. And it's been like this all season for John Calipari's program. One game, the Wildcats are losing at home to Wilmington, two games later they're beating North Carolina on a neutral court. One Saturday, the Wildcats are dropping their third straight game inside Rupp Arena for the first time in school history, two Saturdays later they're leading Alabama by 37 points — yes, Kentucky really led Alabama by 37 points with a little more than eight minutes reaming — and embarrassing the Crimson Tide in a way the Crimson Tide often embarrasses other teams.
Justin Edwards was the star in this one.
The five-star freshman who was ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports, has struggled much of this season and is only averaging 8.9 points in 22 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 wing is sixth on the team in scoring and seventh in minutes per contest. He's slipped considerably in most mock drafts. But against Alabama, Edwards was fantastic. He took 10 shots, made all 10 of them and finished with 28 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes. It represented just the second time since Christmas that Edwards has spent at least 25 minutes on the court.
"It felt so good to go out and show I can play like I did," Edwards said. "It means a lot because [my teammates] believe in me."
Is it time to also start believing in the Wildcats?
Maybe.
They've always been college basketball's most talented team with the most future NBA Draft picks on the roster -- but they're still just 6-7 in the first two quadrants with a Q3 loss to Wilmington also on the résumé. They've lost four times at home this season, twice to currently unranked teams. When they're bad, they're bad. And they've been bad, relative to most expectations, at least, for much of this season.
But Calipari has been through this before.
In 2014, he also had a super-talented roster, but mostly shaky team, that finished 12-6 in the SEC and got a No. 8 seed from the selection committee. Then the NCAA Tournament started, and Kentucky beat Kansas State, Wichita State, Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin to advance all the way to the national championship game. To be clear, I'm not necessarily predicting something similar. But what I am doing is insisting that the talent is in place to do something similar, and I'll never completely rule it out pretty much regardless of what happens between now and Selection Sunday simply because of the talent that's available.
Kentucky is No. 21 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the fifth consecutive day. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Mississippi State.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 96-88 win over Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Michigan. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 78-054 win over Villanova. The Huskies' next game is March 3 against Seton Hall. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 12 points and 10 assists in Saturday's 82-76 win at Baylor. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Cincinnati. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 86-51 win over Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Auburn. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 14 points and six assists in Saturday's 71-64 win over West Virginia. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against Oklahoma. | -- | 29-8 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 34 points and two steals in Wednesday's 105-71 win over DePaul. The Golden Eagles' next game is Sunday against Xavier. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | Cormac Ryan finished with 18 points and one block in Saturday's 54-44 win at Virginia. The Tar Heels' next game is Monday against Miami. | -- | 29-8 |
| 8 |  | Steven Ashworth finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-66 win over UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Sunday at St. John's. | -- | 25-10 |
| 9 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 86-67 win over Texas. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against BYU. | -- | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | Caleb Love finished with 30 points and five assists in Saturday's 91-75 win over Washington. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at Arizona State. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Yves Missi was 1 of 5 from the field in Saturday's 82-76 loss to Houston. The Bears' next game is Monday at TCU. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 25 points and four assists in Saturday's 97-76 win at Georgia. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Tennessee. | 3 | 27-8 |
| 13 |  | Kobe Elvis was 2 of 11 from the field in Wednesday's 71-67 loss at George Mason. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday against Davidson. | 3 | 25-8 |
| 14 |  | Great Osobor finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 68-63 victory over San Diego State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at Fresno State. | 3 | 28-7 |
| 15 |  | Duke allowed the Demon Deacons to shoot 60.4% from the field in Saturday's 83-79 loss at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Louisville. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 73-41 win over Fresno State. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday against San Jose State. | 2 | 26-11 |
| 17 |  | Coleman Hawkins finished with 30 points and five steals in Saturday's 95-85 win over Iowa. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Minnesota. | 2 | 29-9 |
| 18 |  | Alabama allowed the Wildcats to shoot 63.1% from the field in Saturday's 117-95 loss at Kentucky. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Ole Miss. | 4 | 25-12 |
| 19 |  | Jaylen Wells was 3 of 12 from the field in Saturday's 73-61 loss at Arizona State. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against USC. | 8 | 25-10 |
| 20 |  | B.J. Mack finished with 17 points and two assists in Saturday's 72-59 win at Ole Miss. The Gamecocks' next game is Wednesday at Texas A&M. | 2 | 26-8 |
| 21 |  | Justin Edwards finished with 25 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 117-95 win over Alabama. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Mississippi State. | NR | 23-10 |
| 22 |  | WIll Richard finished with 21 points and three assists in Saturday's 77-64 win over Vanderbilt. The Gators' next game is Wednesday against Missouri. | 1 | 24-12 |
| 23 |  | Mitchell Saxen finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 88-62 win over San Diego. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Pepperdine. | 2 | 26-8 |
| 24 |  | Tyler Wahl finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 74-70 win over Maryland. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | -- | 22-14 |
| 25 |  | Rivaldo Soares finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 84-82 win at Oklahoma State. The Sooners' next game is Wednesday at Iowa State. | NR | 20-12 |
| 26 |  | Emanuel Miller finished with 18 points and six assists in Saturday's 75-57 win over Cincinnati. The Horned Frogs' next game is Monday against Baylor. | NR | 21-13 |
