College basketball experts are picking the Kentucky Wildcats to make the Final Four

Is Mark Pope's team going to make the Final Four?

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope yells to his team as they face Alabama during the first half of a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mark Pope and the Kentucky athletic department spent a ton of money on the 2025-26 roster, so the ceiling is very high. The Wildcats have one of the best rosters in college basketball thanks to all of the NIL money spent, and this is why many have picked Pope's team to make the Final Four.

CBS Sports put out an article where their writers picked which teams would make the Final Four, and three writers had the Wildcats making the Final Four. Isaac Trotter even had the Wildcats winning it all.

Here is what Trotter had to say about the Wildcats and why he picked them to make the Final Four: "The 'Cats have a feasible path to a top 10 offense and defense, which is why they're my title pick for 2025-26."

Oct 30, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope calls out to his players during the first half against the Georgetown Hoyas at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Trotter is one of the CBS Sports writers who has been very high on the Wildcats all offseason, as he believes this team is going to be really good. Pope has a lot of solid depth on this team, which is going to mean the Wildcats are coming at teams in waves.

The Wildcats are going to get the season started this evening against the Nicholls Colonels in a game that should be a get right game for Pope's team after the ugly loss to Georgetown. It sounds like they will be without Jaland Lowe in this game, and Denzel Aberdeen is going to be a game-time decision.

The offense did not run well against the Hoyas without these two, so Big Blue Nation is hoping they are able to suit up tonight. If Aberdeen isn't able to go as well, it will once again be up to Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson to run the point.

Oct 24, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The good news for the long-term outlook of this Kentucky team is that Lowe and Aberdeen should be back on the floor sooner than later, and hopefully, Jayden Quaintance will be ready to go by SEC play.

Some are questioning the Wildcats after the loss to Georgetown, but this was without three starters, and Kentucky is going to be elite once they are 100%. The good way of looking at Kentucky's early season injuries is the fact that Kentucky's depth pieces are going to get a lot of important minutes early in the season, which will hopefully lead to them being better for the tournament.

The ceiling is high for this team, and Pope's squad is more than capable of doing something special this season.