Misplaced Priorities: UK Has History of Failure Living Up to Preseason Hype
February 9th, 2018 - 11:50
Kentucky could be headed to finishing out of the AP's Top 20 three times in the last six years after the freshmen-laden Wildcats were ranked among the preseason Top 5. UK, a mere 30 points removed from losing 12 of its first 13 SEC assignments, clearly has been this campaign's biggest disappointment after ranking 5th in the preseason. There has been an average of one such tarnished squad failing to live up to enormous preseason hype each year thus far this century.
The previous 21 teams in this great-expectations category incurred at least double digits in defeats. Following is a chronological list of the first 25 teams included among preseason Top 5 selections since 1968-69 but finishing out of the AP's final Top 20 poll:
| Preseason Top 5 Team | Season | Preseason AP Ranking | Coach | Record | Top Players For Disappointing Squad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 1968-69 | 4th | Johnny Dee | 20-7 | Austin Carr, Bob Arnzen, Bob Whitmore, Dwight Murphy, Collis Jones and Sid Catlett |
| Purdue | 1969-70 | 3rd | George King | 18-6 | Rick Mount, Larry Weatherford, George Faerber, Bob Ford, William Franklin and Tyrone Bedford |
| Southern California | 1971-72 | 3rd | Bob Boyd | 16-10 | Paul Westphal, Joe Mackey, Ron Riley, Dan Anderson and Mike Westra |
| Florida State | 1972-73 | 2nd | Hugh Durham | 18-8 | Reggie Royals, Lawrence McCray, Otis Cole, Benny Clyde and Otis Johnson |
| Indiana | 1976-77 | 5th | Bob Knight | 14-13 | Kent Benson, Mike Woodson, Wayne Radford and Derek Holcomb |
| Kansas | 1978-79 | 5th | Ted Owens | 18-11 | Darnell Valentine, Paul Mokeski, John Crawford, Wilmore Fowler and Tony Guy |
| DePaul | 1984-85 | 3rd | Joey Meyer | 19-10 | Tyrone Corbin, Kenny Patterson, Dallas Comegys, Marty Embry, Tony Jackson and Kevin Holmes |
| Indiana | 1984-85 | 4th | Bob Knight | 19-14 | Steve Alford, Uwe Blab, Stew Robinson, Dan Dakich, Delray Brooks and Daryl Thomas |
| Louisville | 1986-87 | 2nd | Denny Crum | 18-14 | Herbert Crook, Pervis Ellison, Tony Kimbro, Mark McSwain, Keith Williams, Kenny Payne and Felton Spencer |
| Michigan State | 1990-91 | 4th | Jud Heathcote | 19-11 | Steve Smith, Matt Steigenga, Mike Peplowski and Mark Montgomery |
| Clemson | 1997-98 | 5th | Rick Barnes | 18-14 | Greg Buckner, Terrell McIntyre, Harold Jamison and Tony Christie |
| Auburn | 1999-00 | 4th | Cliff Ellis | 24-10 | Chris Porter, Doc Robinson, Scott Pohlman, Daymeon Fishback, Mamadou N'diaye and Mack McGadney |
| UCLA | 2001-02 | 5th | Steve Lavin | 21-12 | Jason Kapono, Billy Knight, Matt Barnes, Dan Gadzuric and T.J. Cummings |
| Arizona | 2003-04 | 4th | Lute Olson | 20-10 | Hassan Adams, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Andre Iguodala and Mustafa Shakur |
| Michigan State | 2003-04 | 3rd | Tom Izzo | 18-12 | Paul Davis, Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert, Maurice Ager and Alan Anderson |
| Missouri | 2003-04 | 5th | Quin Snyder | 16-14 | Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Linas Kleiza, Jimmy McKinney, Travon Bryant and Jason Conley |
| Georgia Tech | 2004-05 | 3rd | Paul Hewitt | 20-12 | Jarrett Jack, B.J. Elder, Will Bynum, Luke Schenscher and Isma'll Muhammad |
| Michigan State | 2005-06 | 4th | Tom Izzo | 22-12 | Maurice Ager, Paul Davis, Shannon Brown and Drew Neitzel |
| Louisiana State | 2006-07 | 5th | John Brady | 17-15 | Glen Davis, Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Garrett Temple and Darnell Lazare |
| Texas | 2009-10 | 3rd | Rick Barnes | 24-10 | Damion James, Avery Bradley, Dexter Pittman, J'Covan Brown, Gary Johnson and Dogus Balbay |
| Kansas State | 2010-11 | 3rd | Frank Martin | 23-11 | Jacob Pullen, Rodney McGruder, Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels |
| Michigan State | 2010-11 | 2nd | Tom Izzo | 19-15 | Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, Delvon Roe and Keith Appling |
| Connecticut | 2011-12 | 4th | Jim Calhoun | 20-14 | Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb, Ryan Boatright, Alex Oriakhi, Shabazz Napier, Roscoe Smith and Tony Olander |
| Kentucky | 2012-13 | 3rd | John Calipari | 21-12 | Willie Cauley-Stein, Archie Goodwin, Ryan Harrow, Julius Mays, Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress and Kyle Wiltjer |
| Kentucky | 2013-14 | 1st | John Calipari | 29-11 | Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Julius Randle and James Young |