Most of the talking heads released their college basketball rankings on Monday, the first day of the season. Jay Bilas needed a few more days to compile his. To be fair, ESPN’s lead college basketball analyst ranks 68 teams instead of 25 for his Bilas Index rankings. Your University of Kentucky Wildcats are No. 8 in the first edition, with Bilas predicting bright days ahead for Pope’s second squad.
“Mark Pope did a masterful job last season of bringing Big Blue Nation together and injecting a positive attitude among the players and the faithful,” Bilas wrote.