Paul Finebaum isn’t limited to college football opinion and analysis.
The longtime radio host appeared on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Monday and touched on Kentucky’s 117-95 romp over Alabama at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon.
It was that performance, coupled with the Wildcats’ previous game (a 75-74 buzzer-beating loss at LSU) that caused Finebaum to label Kentucky the “most interesting” team in the upcoming 2024 NCAA Tournament, for better or worse.
“I think Kentucky is incredibly dangerous and incredibly vulnerable at the same time. It seems like this is the same story we’ve had with John Calipari for 4 or 5 years now,” said Finebaum, via SDS. “I always look at this team after a game like that or the game against Auburn and feel like they can win the national championship, and then they go out and blow a game against LSU. I think they’re the ultimate rollercoaster team, but I also think they’re the most interesting team in the tournament.”
Finebaum is not alone in this assessment. Zach Braziller of the New York Post called the Wildcats “the most fascinating team in college basketball,” capable of a deep March run or an upset loss on opening weekend.
“Wins over Final Four contenders North Carolina, Auburn and Alabama. Losses to NIT hopeful LSU, mid-major UNC-Wilmington and on-the-bubble Gonzaga. There isn’t a more unpredictable team in the country than Kentucky,” Braziller wrote. “Its best is national championship-good. Its worst could lead to another NCAA Tournament flop for a program that hasn’t reached the second weekend since 2019.”
Kentucky is currently 19-8 overall and 9-5 in the SEC. The Wildcats checked in at No. 16 in the latest AP poll and are a projected No. 6 seed in Joe Lunardi’s newest bracket for ESPN.