Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari. Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Don't sleep on Kentucky in the men's NCAA Tournament

Kentucky basketball is barely ever an underdog.

That's a credit to head coach John Calipari and the program he's built since 2009. It's also a credit to the talent that he's able to bring in on a yearly basis.

With that said, the Wildcats haven't won a national championship since 2011-12 and the last time they made the Final Four was 2014-15.

Kentucky is no underdog and heading into March Madness 2024 it's certainly not a Cinderella. With that said, Calipari's team was seeded third in the south region, meaning the Wildcats are technically looking up at Houston and Marquette.

Though a third seed, this Kentucky team seems primed to make a run to the Final Four and perhaps go all the way.

Freshman guard Reed Sheppard is a phenom from deep, averaging a sultry 52.5% from the three-point line. He's the type of player who can get hot and completely bust a bracket all by himself. 

Throw in fellow freshman guard Rob Dillingham (15.4 points, 3.9 assists per game) and you've got a high-scoring duo that completely swing a game off the bench.

That's not even mentioning Kentucky's senior guard and leader Antonio Reeves, who is averaging 20 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season.

Kentucky is deep and well coached. Houston may get all the love in the South region and Marquette is always a dangerous team, but don't sleep on the Wildcats this March Madness.

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