ESPN’s Myron Medcalf says Kentucky is a national title contender

With new head coach Mark Pope, the No. 19 Wildcats averaged 101.5 points in their first two games — wins over Wright State and Bucknell. But victories over a pair of sub-150 teams on KenPom offered a limited opportunity to evaluate this team’s ceiling. And then, the Wildcats met No. 6 Duke at the Champions Classic in Atlanta on Tuesday. They left State Farm Arena with a thrilling 77-72 victory after they corralled Cooper Flagg in the final possessions of the game.

Kentucky had to recover from a double-digit deficit but Pope’s group never wilted under the pressure against a top-10 opponent. A 40% clip from beyond the arc — Kentucky started 9-for-20 from the 3-point line — and the collective effort from Otega Oweh (15 points) and Andrew Carr (17 points) helped secure one of the best wins of the season thus far.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

It’s early. Very early. Let’s start there. But, at this point, the pool of potential title contenders — in a men’s college basketball climate that might not feature the same dominant UConn team we’ve seen over the past two seasons — is vast. On Tuesday night, Kentucky proved it belongs in that mix. That grind-it-out effort over a Duke team with three projected NBA draft lottery picks was impressive because of the way the Wildcats won. It was a battle down the stretch, and they made late plays to get the victory.