Well actually, Kentucky basketball is the most underrated team in the nation

After some early-season stumbles, the Kentucky Wildcats are proving they’re now one of the most underrated teams in college basketball this season.

Even when they’re great, which is often, Kentucky basketball is annually one of the most overrated teams (and Duke) but this year, the Wildcats are actually one of the most underrated.

With a Nov. 12 loss to Evansville — a team that’s 9-20 on the season entering their Feb. 26 matchup — it appeared John Calipari‘s Kentucky Wildcats may not be constructed to compete in the upper-echelon of college basketball in the 2019-20 season.

But entering their Feb. 29 matchup against No. 15-ranked Auburn, the Wildcats have climbed to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 with a 23-5 overall record and 13-2 record in the SEC, good enough for a two-game lead in the conference. Yet, the horrid upset at the hands of Evansville, in addition to mishaps against inferior Utah and South Carolina teams, hangs over Kentucky like a dark cloud.

That cloud has cast such a strong shadow Kentucky is currently among the most underrated teams in college basketball. Yes, such a statement might seem outlandish for the No. 8 team in the country but it’s the absolute truth.

At the heart of what the Wildcats are doing right now is sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley, who’s playing like a bonafide National Player of the Year candidate. Averaging 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on 41.9 percent shooting and 42.9 percent 3-point shooting for the season, Quickley has turned it up a notch down the stretch.

Over his last three games, Quickley is averaging 25.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting over 50 percent from the field and going 14-of-22 from 3-point range over that span. He’s emerged as the “veteran” leader Kentucky had been lacking.

However, this isn’t a one-man show in Lexington as the supporting cast around Quickley has performed phenomenally. In the backcourt with Quickley, sophomore Ashton Hagans is averaging 11.8 points and 6.5 assists per game while continuing to establish himself as one of the best defensive guards in the country.

And let’s not forget about freshman Tyrese Maxey. Though inconsistent at times, the youngster is averaging 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, including six straight.

Junior forward Nick Richards has been another veteran presence on this team as well, leading the frontcourt with a breakout season, putting up 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. E.J. Montgomery has not been much offensively, averaging only 6.4 points per game, but his interior rebounding and defense have been an asset alongside Richards in the frontcourt.

According to the KenPom rankings after the Feb. 25 games, Kentucky is only the No. 26 team in the country by their efficiency rankings. However, when you look at what Calipari’s teams have done in the past — particularly his most successful groups — and where this current iteration of the Wildcats stand, it’s hard not to think that’s selling them short.

Kentucky is underrated according to the metrics, but have the ninth-best futures odds to win the national championship, according to The Action Network.

When Cal and Kentucky have been at their best in the “one-and-done” era of the Wildcats, we have routinely seen the team have early growing pains only to hit their stride late in the season. Roles become more defined, young players find their footing and everything starts to click.

That’s the recipe cooking up in Lexington right now.

Quickley has assumed the role as the alpha and the complementary pieces around him, all of whom have proven their merit and talent as well as having stepped up at various moments, are falling into place perfectly at the most crucial moment of the season with March Madness approaching rapidly.

No matter what the efficiency rankings say for the entire season, the convergence of this Kentucky team at the proper time, in addition to the never-questioned raw talent of Quickley, Hagans, Maxey, Richards and so on, makes the Wildcats a group that would be an unwelcomed matchup for any team in the NCAA Tournament.

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