Kentucky basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 early preview

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 25: Guard Ashton Hagans #0 and head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half of the college basketball game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on January 25, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

How did they do?

There is certainly a way to construe the 2019-20 season as a relative letdown for the Wildcats. Highlighted by the early-season loss to Evansville and dotted with other questionable defeats at the hands of Utah, South Carolina and Tennessee, this campaign was far from dominant from a team that had the talent to submit that type of performance. And perhaps they should be graded on that curve.

At the same time, the eye test showed a lot more than questionable losses, all but one of which (Tennessee) occurred before February. As we’ve seen many times throughout Calipari’s tenure in Lexington and with his reliance on young players, his best teams often have stumbling blocks early but find their identity and, thus, their stride late in the year.

That was very much the situation Kentucky found themselves in at the end of the season. Though the SEC turned out to not be as strong as expected this season, the Wildcats dominated the conference, finishing the regular season with a three-game lead over Auburn and LSU and leaving no doubt who the kings in the conference were.

Winners of nine of their final 10 games, the Wildcats quite clearly were gearing up for a deep NCAA Tournament run that would’ve stood as the true testament to how good this team was. Reading the tea leaves, however, it’s obvious that this team progressed according to plan and was ready to peak at the proper time. With that, it’s hard to call this season anything but a success for Big Blue Nation.