UK Wildcats News: Dick Vitale Preseason College Basketball Rankings Edition

Where do you think Kentucky Basketball should be ranked in the preseason rankings?

• By
  
  Adam Haste
  
• on August 15, 2023 6:40 am

On Monday, the first AP Poll was released for the upcoming college football season. However, the 2023-24 college basketball season is also right around the corner.

While the first official AP Poll has not been released for basketball yet, famous college basketball analyst Dick Vitale recently released his preseason top 25 for this season.

Vitale waited until the transfer portal settled down and for teams’ summer tours to finish up before building his rankings.

For Vitale, the Kansas Jayhawks enter the season as the No. 1 overall team after the return of Kevin McCullar Jr. and the addition of Michigan Wolverines transfer Hunter Dickinson.

Right behind the Jayhawks are the Duke Blue Devils, who returned several of their top players from last season.

Rounding out the top five, Vitale has the Purdue Boilermakers (3), Michigan State Spartans (4), and Connecticut Huskies (5).

As for the Kentucky Wildcats, Vitale placed them just outside the top 10, checking in at No. 13 overall.

“As always, I want to see what John Calipari does with another youthful squad that includes two of the four highest-ranked newcomers in Justin Edwards and D.J. Wagner, to go along with three others ranked in the top 40.”

After bringing in the nation’s No. 1 overall recruiting class, returning Antonio Reeves, the transfers that Calipari brought in, and the team’s performance in the GLOBL JAM event that ended with them winning the gold medal, I don’t see how Kentucky can be ranked outside the top 10.

However, Vitale is not the only one that doesn’t view the Cats as a top-10 preseason team.

The good news is that this group will be entering the season with a chip on their shoulder and ready to go prove that they are a legitimate Final Four contender.

You can check out Dick Vitale’s entire preseason top 25 here.

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