College Basketball Predictions: 10 Bold Predictions for Kentucky and the SEC

The college basketball season is underway, and John Calipari's young Kentucky team tops the SEC.  The SEC is loaded with very talented teams, and they are certainly going to be making waves throughout the season.

The SEC has been both terrific and awful in recent memory, but they appear to have a very talented conference for the 2011-12 season.

In a year that will potentially have the most college basketball viewers in history due to the NBA lockout, the SEC will provide some great basketball to the extra fans.

Most Surprising Team: Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have the best backcourt in the country, and they are going to surprise some people.

The Gators were ranked No. 8 coming into the year and are now No. 7. They are going to be the second-best team in the SEC, and they will certainly challenge Kentucky.

The Gators have a ton of talented guards including Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, transfer Mike Rosario and freshman Brad Beal. These four combined for 62 points in their first game of the season and playing for only 23.25 minutes each.

The question for the Gators was if they had the big men to compete. Patric Young looked good in the first game, racking up 12 points and 10 rebounds. Forwards Will Yeguete and Erik Murphy then platooned for the second big man spot, combining for 13 points and 11 rebounds in 34 total minutes.

The Gators appear to have a solid frontcourt, and with their exceptional backcourt, they will surely be a tough team to beat.

Most Disappointing Team: Vanderbilt Commodores

The Vanderbilt Commodores were ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll, but after an embarrassing loss to Cleveland State at home, they have fallen.

Vandy has looked awful for the first two games, shooting less than 40 percent from the floor, and less than 30 percent from three, not to mention around 60 percent from the line.

Vandy needs to move the ball well to set up their shots if they want to be successful. They recorded 16 assists when they won, but only six against Cleveland State in their loss.

They also missed big man and defensive-stopper Festus Ezeli, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

The Commodores still have a lot to figure out if they want to be elite, and while that happens, they are going to fall through the rankings.

Game of the Year: Kentucky at Florida

The Kentucky Wildcats are supposed to win the SEC easily, but it will all come down to the final game of the season at Florida.

The Gators are set to challenge the Wildcats, and on their home floor, they have a great chance of beating them.

The Gators have the tools, and if they put it all together, they could potentially win the SEC with a bit of help from the Wildcats.

Freshman of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Anthony Davis is the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2011 class, and he's shown us why. In his two games, Davis has averaged 18.5 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

Davis is a machine, and it seems as though he can single-handedly control the paint, and he is arguably one of the best centers in the country already.

After his first game against Marist, most people thought he only did well because he was playing a smaller school. However, his next game came against Kansas, and he did well on both ends of the floor, especially defensively with his seven blocks.

Davis is a great big man, and the Wildcats are lucky to have him.

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Freshman Anthony Davis of the Kentucky Wildcats has only played one game, but he was impressive.

Davis recorded five blocks in his first game, showing his great length and impressive timing. Davis is an absolute force down low, and his 10 rebounds and five blocks showed that.

Then last night against No. 11 Kansas Davis had seven blocks. Kansas is not exactly a small team, and the fact that he still had seven blocks shows that this kid is legit.

Davis is a menacing player who will stop defenses from driving by his mere presence, and this 6'10" beast will win SEC Defensive Player of the Year because of it (and because Vanderbilt's Festus Ezeli is out indefinitely with a knee injury).

Player of the Year: Terrence Jones, Kentucky Wildcats

Terrence Jones is the best player in the SEC, and he could compete for National Player of the Year honors.

Jones is a very athletic power forward who would have been a first round pick in the NBA draft had he entered at the end of last season.

Jones didn't have to do much in his first game, but as the season progresses, he will have to do more and more, and he will surely be able to keep up with the challenge.

Jones is an amazing player who can do it all, and he will surely win SEC Player of the Year honors.

Winner of Conference: Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are loaded with talent once again with another John Calipari recruiting class backing the team up.

The Wildcats have four amazing freshmen and three starters from their Final Four team last season.  They are good enough to beat any team in the nation, and are well-deserving of their No. 2 ranking in the nation.

With Calipari at the helm and some incredible players, this team is set for an amazing season, and it all starts by winning the SEC.

Winner of Conference Tournament: Kentucky Wildcats

John Calipari's crew will also win the conference tournament. He is a great coach who will have his guys ready for these games at a neutral site.

Calipari always does well during tournament games, and the SEC tournament will be no different. This team is the best in the conference, and they won't be stopped.

Number of Teams That Make the NCAA Tournament: 5

The SEC has four Top 25 teams in Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Alabama. They also have Mississippi State, who will find their way into the NCAA tournament.

Three of these teams (Kentucky, Florida and Alabama) have a good chance of making a deep run, and if Vandy can figure out what's going wrong, they have the talent to do so as well.

The SEC won't have a lot of teams in the tournament, but they will certainly leave a mark.

Team with the Best Chance of Winning the NCAA Tournament: Kentucky Wildcats

Listen to the talent on this team: Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Michael Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer.

All of these players have NBA futures ahead of them, and all six should be first-round picks.

The Wildcats showed their skill as they pounded Marist, and then defeated the Kansas Jayhawks, who were ranked No. 11 in the country.

More Predictions

This is part five of a six-part series. I'm bringing you 10 bold predictions for the six major conferences over the next week. This is the schedule:

ACC

Big 12

Pac-12

Big East

Friday 11/18, Big Ten

Josh Schoch is an aspiring sportswriter dedicated to bringing you everything related to college basketball, the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and much more.  Follow him on Twitter.