College basketball expert ranks Kentucky outside of the top ten

With the transfer portal now being closed for over a week, that means new early top 25 rankings are being released. ESPN's Jeff Borzello put out his rankings on Tuesday and the Wildcats are just outside of the top 10, coming in at #11. To no surprise, Purdue, UConn and St, John's round out the top three of the updated rankings.

Many of the early rankings so far has had Kentucky firmly in the top 10 or just outside of it. In Borzello's updated rankings, Arkansas ranks exactly one spot ahead of the Wildcats at #10, with in-state rival Louisville coming in at #7, who have really loaded up on transfers this offseason. Kentucky has a really nice balance of returning pieces and incoming transfers and freshmen. Borzello talked about how Mark Pope's offseason has gone, and it's worth noting that he mentioned the potential return of Otega Oweh, so it's unclear if that decision still pending had an impact in the ranking.

"Kentucky is absolutely loaded on the perimeter next season, with the arrivals of transfers Jaland Lowe (Pitt), Kam Williams (Tulane) and Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and five-star prospect Jasper Johnson, to go along with the potential return of leading scorer Otega Oweh and reserve Collin Chandler. Mark Pope also revamped the frontcourt with defense in mind, with the additions of Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) and Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State). Quaintance could miss time after suffering a torn ACL in late February, so a step forward from Brandon Garrison will be needed."

Jeff Borzello on Kentucky's roster.

Borzello also projected Kentucky's starting lineup as Jaland Lowe, Jasper Johnson, Otega Oweh, Mo Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance. As he noted, Kentucky's backcourt depth with a focus on defense, especially with the frontcourt, was a clear focus for Mark Pope and his staff heading into the offseason, and they checked those boxes.

As rosters continue to shape up across the country and an Otega Oweh decision still to come, Kentucky should surely make their way into the top 10 within ESPN's next couple of ranking updates.