From the Harrison twins to Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray, Kentucky went from one of the best starting backcourts to arguably the best backcourt in the country once again. Tyler Ulis chose to stay in school another year due to the fact that he wasn’t highly scouted as an NBA prospect last year like his Dream Team teammates because of his size. Being only 5’9”, teams thought he was too small to start on an NBA team. However, Ulis might have quieted most, if not all of his critics with his play this year, leading the Wildcats to a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as an SEC Tourney Championship. Ulis, who was named the SEC Tournament MVP, was also awarded First Team All-SEC, SEC Player of the Year, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Kentucky started off the season extremely shaky, having fallen out of the ranks at one point of the year. Coach Cal was experimenting with Jamal Murray at the point, and using Skal Labisierre as a Karl Towns-type player, which did not go well for either. It wasn’t until Coach Cal gave Ulis the point guard lead that Kentucky took off. Labisierre has progressed throughout the season, and is now showing some qualities that had scouts grading him as the #1 pick at one point. Along with Ulis, Murray has played well since becoming more of a spot shooter. Murray can heat up at any moment in the game, and showed why he’s so dangerous against Stony Brook, going 1-9 FGs in the first half but finishing with 19 points on 7-16 shooting.
The Wildcats are playing their best basketball at the perfect moment. After winning the SEC Tournament, they looked dangerous defensively against Stony Brook, suffocating the Seawolves with an NCAA Tourney record 15 blocks. Middle Tennessee might have done Kentucky a favor for the future by upsetting Michigan St. in the first round. The Wildcats would have met the Spartans during the Final Four if both kept winning. Kentucky has to go through Indiana first though, and could be the game of the tournament, featuring a marquee PG matchup with Ulis vs. Ferrell. There probably won’t be a better head-to-head player matchup this tournament, and as long as the Wildcats get past the Hoosiers, they have a serious underdog shot at stealing the championship, even with a potential Sweet 16 game with the Tarheels.