Prediction on Kentucky Basketball's First 5 Games

It is that time again college basketball fans! This Friday night some of the biggest games are taking place, but one sticks out among the rest. The Kentucky Wildcats take on the Purdue Boilermakers. The Cats are ranked ninth in preseason rankings and Purdue is ranked number one. You can expect the Cats to come out with an explosive offense lead by Otega Oweh, senior guard for the Cats, and solid defense that will be brought from the energy of the whole team. With the season starting here are my predictions for the first 5 games of Kentucky’s schedule.

Game 1: VS. Purdue (10/24) @Home 

Prediction - 74-70 - (Purdue)

Kentucky takes on ranked number one Purdue at Home this Friday night in their first exhibition game for the 25-26 season. This Friday night could really go anyway but unfortunately Kentucky’s front court is young and might not be able to keep up with Purdue’s frontcourt. However, I believe the Cats will keep the game close with their explosive guard play and the front court, even though they are young, are still going to be very impressive.

Game 2: VS. Georgetown (10/30) @Home

Prediction: - 87-68 - (Kentucky)
For Kentucky’s second exhibition game they take on the Georgetown Bulldogs. The Cats should have a pretty easy win for this game as the Bulldogs are not near as talented as the Boilermakers.

Game 3: VS. Nicholls (11/4) @Home

Prediction: - 94-76 - (Kentucky)

This game is Kentucky’s first regular season game and should not be a close game at all. The Cats play Nicholls who are arguably not even as good as Georgetown. The Cats will be able to get their younger bench players and build experience from this game.

Game 4: VS. Valparaiso (11/7) @Home

Prediction: - 98-82 - (Kentucky)

This game should be much easier for the Cats as they will have the first game under their belt and will have some true in-game chemistry with each other. This game along with the first should be a simple but efficient game for the Cats.

Game 5: VS. Louisville (11/11) @Away

Prediction: - 88-82 - (Kentucky)

This is one of the biggest games of the year in the Bluegrass and I believe the Kentucky Wildcats will bring home the win. Louisville will be a tough opponent, however, Louisville’s biggest upside being their backcourt having one of the best freshmen in the country. Kentucky on the other hand has a strong back court that will be able to keep up with Louisville’s. The Cats also have a strong front court who will develop tremendously throughout the first few games and Louisville will not be able to keep up.

Including the exhibition games I believe the Kentucky Wildcats will start their season 4-1 losing only to number 1 ranked Purdue. That being said, I believe if the Cats played the Boilermakers later on in the season, we would win even though we lost the first game. The Cats are going to be a very exciting team to watch this year with the speed of the offensive tempo that head coach Mark Pope will set the pace at.