COACH: John Calipari, two years at Kentucky, two years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Southeastern Conference tournament champion).
GO-TO GUYS: G Brandon Knight might be a freshman but he plays like an established veteran. He's drawing comparisons to last year's freshman sensation, John Wall, except that he is more of a natural scorer. In fact, he and freshman F Terrence Jones lead the Wildcats in scoring with a third freshman, G Doron Lamb, right behind. Together, they produced nearly 48 points a game during the regular season. Lamb shot 47.4 percent, Knight 40.6 from 3-point range. Junior G DeAndre Liggins moved to the bench late in the season but still has a key role as Kentucky's defensive stopper.
X FACTOR: Junior G Darius Miller will play a crucial role as the Wildcats get deeper into the tournament, as he did as SEC tournament MVP. He has inside-outside skills and doesn't blink as an experienced hand who knows how the pressure mounts in "one-and-done" situations. He can score, too, giving the Wildcats a fourth player in double figures for the season (11.1 points per game). He also can shoot the three (46.0 percent), making Kentucky strong in an area that cost the 'Cats in last year's regional final loss to West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
STRENGTHS: The Wildcats are a much better 3-point shooting team than last year's group (39.9 percent to 33.1) and have the ability to put together big scoring runs. Senior F Josh Harrellson doesn't produce a lot of points (about six a game) but is a plugger on the boards (nearly nine rebounds a game) and always seems to be around to clean up things inside. With Jones and Harrellson doing most of the work, the 'Cats outrebounded opponents by about five a game during the season. At 6-8, Jones is a slasher with the ball-handling skills to penetrate inside. Knight is a point guard who can score as well as distribute the basketball.
WEAKNESSES: Depth is an obvious concern. Six players do the bulk of the heavy lifting, which means the Wildcats need to avoid foul trouble, especially with Jones and Harrellson up front. The 'Cats have the ability to build big leads quickly, but they sometimes lose them just as fast. They were only 2-6 in games decided by six points or fewer until beating Vanderbilt by two and Tennessee by six in their last two outings of the regular season.
