Kentucky Basketball: 10 Burning Questions Heading into SEC Play

With the SEC season getting underway, it’s no surprise to find preseason No. 2 Kentucky as the clear favorite in the conference. That doesn’t mean, however, that we won’t learn a lot about the Wildcats over the next two months.

One of the biggest issues for John Calipari’s team lately has been the play of sophomore star Terrence Jones. Saturday’s offensive outburst may have shaken him out of his funk, but will Jones be a player the Wildcats can count on in the clutch?

Read on for a closer look at Jones’ situation and nine other critical questions that need to be answered in Lexington during SEC play.

10. Can Anyone Beat Anthony Davis for SEC Player of the Year?

Superlative freshman Anthony Davis has been the hero for Kentucky with sophomore Terrence Jones battling inconsistency and injury.

Davis is averaging 12.7 points, a team-high 10.6 rebounds and a ludicrous 4.6 blocks per game.

With Vanderbilt (John Jenkins) and Florida (Bradley Beal, Erving Walker) under-performing, Davis’ top competitors will have a tough time catching up to him.

Look for the freshman to take home the prize in spite of his raw offensive game.

9. Can Florida (or Anyone) Challenge Kentucky for the SEC Title?

The SEC title is almost incidental for Kentucky this season, as the Wildcats have their eyes on a much bigger championship.

However, early returns suggest that keeping the conference crown in Lexington shouldn’t be too big of a challenge.

Vanderbilt looked like a major threat in the preseason, but even after Festus Ezeli’s return, the Commodores have struggled mightily.

Meanwhile, Kentucky's two ranked foes in the SEC—No. 19 Florida and No. 20 Mississippi State—both opened conference play with upset losses that leave serious doubts as to their potential to push the Wildcats at the top of the standings.

8. Is One Great Perimeter Shooter Enough for a Title Contender?

One of the running themes of the 2011-12 season has been a string of upsets triggered by the favored offense going cold—as in last night's 4-for-19 three-point shooting performance by No. 15 Louisville in a blowout loss to Providence.

In that context, Kentucky has to be at least a little bit concerned about its own three-point shooting (or lack thereof) to this point in the season.

The Wildcats’ size has helped them get away with an offense that rarely shoots from long range, with the exception of the sensational Doron Lamb (46.9 percent from beyond the arc).

Against a team that can force them to shoot from outside—say, top-ranked Syracuse and its 2-3 zone—Kentucky may wish it had more proven options for knocking down treys.

7. What Will It Take to Earn a No. 1 Seed?

At this stage of the season, the Wildcats are ranked No. 2 in the nation and appear to be prohibitive favorites for a top seed in March.

If they run into any stumbling blocks in conference play, though, how much margin for error will they have?

Unbeaten and top-ranked Syracuse appears well on its way to locking up one No. 1 seed, and whoever wins the clash of the ACC titans is fairly well assured of another.

Beyond that, though, there are no sure things, meaning that even a couple of upset losses for UK probably won’t torpedo its chances at the top line of the bracket.

6. Is the Real Terrence Jones Back for Good?

After a slump that lasted nearly a month, Terrence Jones returned to form on Saturday against South Carolina.

The 6’9” forward shot 8-for-9 from the field in scoring 20 points on the Gamecocks.

If Jones’ shooting touch has finally recovered, a crucial obstacle to a UK Final Four trip is gone.

If the South Carolina game was a mirage, though, Jones might disappear again in a key moment, as he did in the loss to Indiana in December (four points, six turnovers).

5. Will Free-Throw Shooting Be a Stumbling Block?

Kentucky isn’t a terrible team from the free-throw line by any stretch, but they’ve already seen what a few mistakes from the stripe can do.

A pair of missed free throws in the final minute—one on the front end of a one-and-one—helped seal the Wildcats’ lone loss of the season at Indiana.

Doron Lamb is quite a good free-throw shooter (nearly 84 percent), and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist isn’t far behind.

The rest of the starting lineup, though, is under 70 percent for the season, and unless that improves it’s going to haunt the Wildcats in the few close games they’ll have to play.

4. Is Anthony Davis Going to Develop on Offense?

Anthony Davis’ extraordinary defensive talents have made him the best freshman in the country this season.

On offense, though, he’s largely depended on his teammates to create shots for him, plus the put-back opportunities his rebounding skills inevitably create.

If Davis could become more of a factor with his back to the basket, he would make Kentucky all but unstoppable on offense.

However, there’s precious little practice time for him to perform such a major overhaul to his game in time for this season’s Big Dance.

3. How Will the Freshmen Handle Tough Road Games?

Kentucky has done many things brilliantly in 2011-12, but win on the road is not one of them.

The only true road game the young Wildcats have faced has also been their only loss, 73-72 at Indiana.

The second half of the SEC schedule features perilous trips to Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Florida, all of which have the talent to upset the Wildcats with a strong performance.

In the immediate future, Tennessee—which just took down the Gators in Knoxville—looms as an early test on Saturday afternoon.

2. Can Marquis Teague Be a Top-Level Point Guard?

Kentucky’s balanced, talent-laden lineup gives them a position-for-position advantage against almost every team in the country.

The one key exception, however, is at the point, where freshman Marquis Teague is good but hardly national-championship caliber.

Teague is dishing out an unremarkable 4.5 assists a game while turning the ball over 3.1 times a night.

Even in SEC play, he’ll face serious challenges from Erving Walker of Florida, Dee Bost of Mississippi State and probably Trae Golden of Tennessee.

1. Will Kentucky Have It Too Easy in Conference Play?

Regardless of what happens to Kentucky in conference play, it’s hard to imagine a realistic scenario that has the Wildcats getting lower than a No. 2 seed.

While most teams worry about conference titles or seeding, John Calipari needs to be preparing his team for a national championship push.

With that in mind, Kentucky fans should hope that their team doesn’t run away with the SEC by too much.

A close shave or even a loss late in conference play (perhaps at Mississippi State on Feb. 21, one of the toughest games on the schedule) would do a lot to keep the Wildcats focused and hungry heading into March Madness.