Kentucky is poised for a national championship run for 3 reasons

Kentucky was always supposed to be here. The Wildcats were considered one of the top two teams in the preseason polls along with the Kansas Jayhawks. While Kansas stumbled on their way to a disappointing season as it enters the NCAA tournament, Kentucky has mostly lived up to the hype. This is a team that has every ingredient to win the national title.

It didn’t always look like it would be this way. Kentucky opened the season by getting humiliated by Duke in front of the entire country in the Champions Classic, a 34-point beatdown that will go down as the worst defeat of John Calipari’s coaching career at any level. That Kentucky has responded so emphatically since against an improved SEC has been one of the biggest storylines of the college basketball season.

Kentucky beat North Carolina decisively on a neutral court in Chicago. It swept Florida and Auburn, and won at Louisville. While the Wildcats fell in a great game to lose the season series against Tennessee, they’ve still proven that this is is a young team that seems to be peaking at the right time.

We’ve seen Calipari win a national championship at Kentucky in 2012. We’ve seen him reach the Final Four with the Wildcats three other times. This may not be Calipari’s best Kentucky team, but it’s still damn good. Betting against the Wildcats will continue to be a scary proposition.

Washington’s star turn in his sophomore season has solved so many of the Wildcats’ biggest questions. He gives them a primary offensive option, which was an open question in the preseason. His improvements as a three-point shooter provide an answer to Kentucky’s spacing issue. He also offers definitive proof that you aren’t a failure if you stick around two years in Lexington.

Washington likely would have been a second-round pick if he entered the NBA Draft as a freshman. Now he’s projected as a possible lottery pick. He’s debuted a diverse offensive game this season, blossoming into a knockdown three-point shooter (42 percent) while still having feathery touch on his jump hooks in the post.

This is a 6’8, 230 pound forward with a 7’3 wingspan who now has the perimeter skill to match his physicality. Washington is one of the five or 10 best players in this tournament. His emergence has fortified Kentucky’s preseason national title hopes.

The biggest question with Kentucky entering the tournament is the health of senior grad transfer Reid Travis. Travis has formed a commanding interior duo with Washington all season by providing inside scoring and rebounding. At 6’8, 240 pounds, a Kentucky team has never had a player with his experience in the NCAA tournament before. His health is important to monitor, but he looked good in his return to action in the SEC tournament.

Even if Travis isn’t himself, Calipari has other options in the front court. Sophomore Nick Richards and freshman E.J. Montgomery were both McDonald’s All-Americans who have provided quality defense and rebounding when they’ve had an opportunity. No other team in the country has depth like this even if Calipari would prefer not rely on it so heavily.

Kentucky has been an elite offensive rebounding team all year. They can hit the defensive glass and block shots, too. So many of Calipari’s best teams have thrived because of their front court play, and this one is no different.

Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, and Ashton Hagans don’t have the raw talent of Calipari’s best freshmen (like Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, and De’Aaron Fox), but each has grown into an important piece for this team.

Johnson is a 6’6 wing who can drive or hit a catch-and-shoot three. He is Kentucky’s most skilled perimeter scorer and should be the main complement to Washington’s inside-out game. Herro is a shooter this team badly needs. He can run off screens and get hot from deep in a hurry. When he’s knocking down threes, Kentucky is at his best.

Hagans gets less attention because he isn’t as polished offensively, but he might be the best perimeter defender in the country. His ball pressure defensively has paced Kentucky all year. Also don’t forget about Montgomery and Immanuel Quickley, both former five-star recruits who can make an impact on either end.

Kentucky would play the winner of Seton Hall vs. Wofford in the second round. Remember, Seton Hall has already beaten the Wildcats this season. A tough matchup with Iowa State looms in the Sweet 16. North Carolina awaits in the Elite Eight.

If Kentucky makes the Final Four, it’ll face Virginia or Tennessee, most likely. Could await in the national title game.