Only 24 days remain until the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team opens the 2024-25 regular season at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky will be in Year 1 of the Mark Pope era with a brand new roster following last season and John Calipari’s flip from the Blue Grass State to the Ozarks of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
On Friday, CBS Sports college basketball expert David Cobb made his SEC predictions for the season ahead, including the conference’s projected order of finish. Cobb projects the Alabama Crimson Tide to finish first in the SEC this season with the Auburn Tigers second.
The Tennessee Volunteers were picked third with Texas A&M Aggies picked to finish fourth.
Kentucky was picked to finish sixth in the conference, one spot behind Calipari’s Razorbacks at No. 5 and one spot ahead of the Florida Gators at No. 7
Per Cobb’s projections:
“Not a single scholarship player is back from Calipari’s final team, and scoring wing Jaxson Robinson is the only player coming with Pope from BYU. Thus, nearly everyone is both new to the school and new to each other. What the roster lacks in high-end sizzle it makes up for with depth and diversity. The Wildcats are a deep group of veterans with well-refined skill sets. Robinson is the most dynamic offensive weapon of the bunch after proving his chops as a three-level scorer for the Cougars last season. Former San Diego State point guard Lamont Butler and bombastic ex-Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa will handle the ball quite a bit.”
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Cobb included Robinson on his list of Players to Watch in 2024-25.
“Robinson won Sixth Man of the Year in the Big 12 last season while playing under Mark Pope at BYU. Now he’s following Pope back to the SEC after spending time at Texas A&M and Arkansas earlier in his career. UK’s roster is constructed in a way that clears the path for the lanky wing to be a primary scoring option.
Kentucky opens the regular season at Rupp Arena against Wright State on Nov. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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