The start of the 2025-26 college basketball season is still a few months away, but Kentucky Wildcats fans are excited for what they believe is a championship contending team. With the additions of players like Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, and Kam Williams to go with Otega Oweh and others, Big Blue Nation has their sights set on the Final Four.
Getting there won’t be easy. Teams like Houston and Purdue among others are also talent-laden squads who the Wildcats will have to overcome. Most analysts have Kentucky as a top 10-12 team, but agree that they can win it all.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas recently appeared on the Sources Say podcast, and talked about Kentucky and their championship dreams. He praised the team Mark Pope has put together, but stopped short of saying they can win it all.
I get the championship or bust thing, and I know that’s the ultimate destination for the Kentucky players, the program, and certainly the fans, but even if that’s the ultimate destination and Kentucky didn’t reach it last year, I can’t imagine that, if you gave everybody truth serum in Big Blue Nation, that they didn’t love last season. It was a joyful year and so much fun to watch and be a part of.
He added that the Wildcats, in his opinion, aren’t on the same level as Houston, Purdue, and Duke, saying they’re “a little further down the line.”
Bilas is one of college basketball’s smartest minds, and his opinions carry weight. However, Kentucky fans might have a word or two of disagreement with this one.