Kentucky's KenPom ranking shows why the Wildcats can win the NCAA Tournament

KenPom has fallen in love with the Kentucky Wildcats.

Oct 11, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope watches the action during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

All college basketball fans are very aware of the importance that comes with the KenPom rankings. If a team is going to be really good, it needs to be ranked high in both offense and defense on KenPom.

Last season, in year one of the Mark Pope era, the Kentucky Wildcats were really good on offense, but the defense struggled. The Wildcats finished outside of the top 50 in defense, and for most of the season, the Wildcats were outside of the top 100.

The defense started to improve later in the season, but it ended up struggling against Tennessee in the Sweet 16, leading to the loss and the end of a very exciting season.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope being introduced at the 2025 Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the start of the 2025-26 season right around the corner, the KenPom rankings have come out, and the Wildcats are fourth overall. The offense is ranked as the eighth best in college hoops, with the defense coming in at fourth overall.

It seems like KenPom believes the additions Coach Pope made to help the defense this season are working, as the Wildcats are ranked as one of the top defenses in the nation.

Otega Oweh, Mo Dioubate, Kam Williams, and, of course, Jayden Quaintance are all elite defenders, and they will be a big reason why Kentucky's defense will go from one of the worst in the SEC to one of the best.

Oct 11, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Kam Williams (3) competes in the three point contest during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Last season, all four teams that made the Final Four were ranked inside the top 12 in both offensive and defensive rating. This goes to show that having Kentucky inside of the top ten of both of these categories is huge for this basketball team.

Kentucky fans should be very happy to see the way Coach Pope has fixed issues. Obviously, the defense was not up to par last season, so he went and added a lot of players who are going to help this defense be much better. Having a coach that is able to find and address problems is very important, and the Wildcats have that in Pope.

All offseason, Big Blue Nation has been buying into the fact that this basketball team is capable of winning number nine, and now the preseason KenPom rankings are backing that fact.

The Wildcats will start the season ninth overall in the AP Poll and fourth in KenPom, which should have Kentucky fans very excited for the upcoming season. Pope has a very special team, and the analytics back this.

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