The Kentucky Wildcats looked like a well-oiled machine on Wednesday night as they raced past Kentucky Wesleyan in their first exhibition game.
A shock to many, the Cats performed well above the consensus expectations for the team to this point in the season, making a statement heading into the opening weeks of the season, which also includes a key early matchup against Duke.
Over the last 40 years, Kentucky has scored more than 120 points in six seasons, with this UK team being added as the seventh. Corey Price of the UK Sports Network did some digging, and his findings will likely get the BBN even more pumped heading into the season.
According to Price, out of the six other teams that broke the 120-point threshold in an exhibition game, each team has at least made an Elite Eight, and two teams won the National Championship. The other squads include 1994-95 (Elite Eight), 1995-96 (National Champions), 2010-11 (Final Four), 2011-12 (National Champions), 2014-15 (Final Four), and 2016-17 (Elite Eight).
How @KentuckyMBB fared in the NCAA Tournament, since 1985, in seasons where they scored at least 120 points in an exhibition game:
– 1994-1995 (Elite Eight)
– 1995-1996 (National Champions)
– 2010-2011 (Final Four)
– 2011-2012 (National Champions)
– 2014-2015 (Final Four)
-…— Corey Price (@coreyp08) October 24, 2024
It is still too early to tell how this team will fare this season, especially with a tough non-conference schedule and an even tougher SEC. Despite that, history and the numbers are on the Cats’ side.
Let’s hope this season can finish similar to those mentioned above.
