Kentucky Basketball: The Wildcats Have the Pieces to Win the NCAA Tournament

John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats have been on the brink of NCAA tournament success in his short tenure.

This year provides their best opportunity to win the National Championship, however.

Kentucky has every ingredient or element needed to win the NCAA tournament this season.

Leadership

The Wildcats are known for having talented freshman with no experienced leadership.

This year is slightly different with Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones and Darius Miller; all three are playing large roles in the Wildcats' success last season.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is playing like a senior—and he's only a freshman. The 6'7" small forward has proven to play extremely well in big games while staying under control. He has scored in double-digits against Kansas, Indiana and Louisville.

Kidd-Gilchrist has scored in double-figures in 12 games this season, including a dominant 24-point, 19-rebound performance on Saturday against Louisville.

Outside Shooting

Teams that have multiple outside shooters can really change the game in the NCAA tournament—see VCU last season.

The three-point shot is the ultimate equalizer in college basketball. Kentucky has six players capable of knocking down the outside shot, led by Lamb and his 49.1 completion percentage.

Kentucky doesn't have the best collection of shooters in the country, but they do have players capable of producing behind the arc.

Defense

People don't realize this, but Kentucky's defense is talented across the board. They have only allowed more than 70 points twice this season, and that was 73 points to Indiana and 72 to North Carolina—no shame in that.

Freshman Anthony Davis has been an absolute beast on the front line for the Wildcats. He is averaging a double-double with 11.6 points and 10.2 rebounds, but perhaps his most impressive statistic is his 4.5 blocks per game. Davis has done a fantastic job of blocking/altering shots all season long.

Kidd-Gilchrist and Miller use their size and frame to guard multiple positions, giving Calipari multiple plus-defenders on the floor. They have played excellent team defense.

X-Factors

It's tough to rely on freshman, but nobody can deny that Kidd-Gilchrist loves the big-game moments.

His enthusiasm, energy, passion and so much more are on display every night; the more you watch him play, the more you love his game.

Marquis Teague is one of the biggest x-factors for the Wildcats, partly because you don't know what to expect.

Teague has averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 assists per game this season, but you don't know if you're going to get the 15-point performance he showcased against Indiana, or the four-point (1-8) performance he showcased against Louisville.

Teague's ability to blow past defenders is exceptional, but sometimes he can lack the willingness to be aggressive while being able to make smart decisions.

Jones is a player capable of putting up 25 points per night, but watching him against Indiana and Louisville should pull up red flags.

Jones has a great inside-outside game, but he tends to be lost on the court. Against Indiana he scored four points on 2-for-3 shooting, and against Louisville he went 1-for-9 for two points.

When he is focused and aggressive, Jones has the ability of taking games over.

Coaching

Calipari, like him or not, is a great basketball coach. From his dribble-drive offense to getting first-round NBA talent to coexist and plunge into team basketball, Calipari understands what buttons to push in order to get his team where he wants.

He gets his team to believe in playing on the defensive side of the floor. Calipari uses his players’ talents on more than just the offensive side of the floor, which ultimately helps their draft status.

Flaws

Every team has flaws, so I'm not going to pretend that Kentucky is perfect—because they aren't.

Jones' play is worrisome given his inactivity on the floor, and Teague has been up and down in his freshman campaign. Kentucky's depth isn't great, and it has a load of young players who could make freshman errors in future big games.

Best Team in Country?

No team is as athletic on both sides of the floor than the Kentucky Wildcats; they have every piece to a championship puzzle.

It's time for Calipari to finally get over the hump and win a national title for the great fans of Kentucky.