Kentucky Basketball: Highs and Lows of Wildcats' 2015-16 Season So Far

While fans prefer consistent winning, the 2015-16 Kentucky Wildcats have been a part of an eventful year, and it's not even over yet.

Last year's version cruised through the regular season and conference tournament undefeated before finally getting stopped in the Final Four. It wasn't a year of peaks and valleys, just positive vibes until a disappointing end to the year.

The current team might not be as dominant, but the season has certainly been interesting. While there are still a few more weeks in the year, there has already been plenty of highs and lows that will be remembered when all is said and done.

Here is a recap of the biggest extremes so far as we head into March.

High: Nov. 17—Stepping Up on the Big Stage

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There were high expectations coming into the year for Kentucky, as there always are, but there were even more question marks than usual this season. The majority of the projected rotation was either freshmen with zero college basketball experience or returning players with limited playing time last year, such as Tyler Ulis and Marcus Lee.

Not to discredit Albany or NJIT, but the first real test came in the Champions Classic with a matchup against Duke. Kentucky passed with flying colors.

The Wildcats excelled defensively while holding Brandon Ingram and Grayson Allen to a combined 10 points. Ulis completely controlled the game with 18 points and six assists while playing every minute.

That weekend, North Carolina fell to Northern Iowa, and Kentucky was rewarded as the No. 1 team in the nation in both major polls. Duke has struggled since that game, but at that moment, Kentucky proved it was once again a top contender for a national championship, even with new faces in the lineup.

Low: Dec. 3—First Wake-Up Call

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It took 39 games for Kentucky to suffer its first and only loss during the 2014-15 season. It took only eight for the current squad to get its first taste of defeat.

As good as the Wildcats looked in the first few weeks, they eventually found out things would be much tougher this time around with an 87-77 loss to UCLA, revenge for an 83-44 drubbing a year ago.

After Lee went down with an injury early on, the pressure was on Skal Labissiere to make plays inside, and the highly touted freshman failed miserably with just six points and one rebound in 16 minutes. Neither he nor any of the other bigs on the roster could contain Bruins center Thomas Welsh, who had 21 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in the upset win.

This was far from the worst loss of the season for Kentucky, but it was definitely a significant one. It knocked the Wildcats off their perch of No. 1 in the polls while killing the confidence of a young team that had not seen much failure. This was also one of the first moments doubts were raised about Labissiere's ability to make an impact this season.

Considering UCLA is unlikely to even make the NCAA tournament, this was not a great moment for John Calipari's squad.

High: Dec. 26—Survival Against Hated Rival

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A few weeks after losing to UCLA, Kentucky suffered another defeat at the hands of Ohio State. However, in the next game, this squad proved that it can still beat anyone in the country in Rupp Arena.

Louisville came to town with a lot of talent and a pure hatred of its in-state rival, but the Wildcats had an answer in the form of one of their best offensive showings of the season. They went against one of the best defenses in college basketball and came out with 75 points thanks to 11-of-23 shooting from three-point range.

Ulis was his normal dominant self, and while Jamal Murray was off, Dominique Hawkins was the surprise hero with 13 points off the bench.

Things did get scary at the end after Kentucky's double-digit second-half lead dropped to just two in the closing seconds. Damion Lee took a three-pointer to win, but it didn't fall, and the Wildcats were able to hold on for one of their best wins of the season.

In reality, even if the Cardinals weren't good, this win would still qualify as an enjoyable one for Big Blue Nation.

Low: Jan. 5—Embarrassment on the Road

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Great teams lose on the road, especially during a wild 2015-16 season. However, not many good ones get embarrassed by below-average opponents like Kentucky did against LSU.

Sure, the Tigers have a lot of talent, including the projected No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft in Ben Simmons. That still doesn't justify Kentucky getting blown out in an 85-67 loss to LSU. Tim Quarterman finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, one of three players on the home team to record a double-double.

The Wildcats dealt with foul trouble all night, but more important, they were simply outworked and outmuscled on seemingly every possession. There was no toughness or intensity, and they appeared to give up early in the game.

Like in the case of UCLA, LSU's struggles since this point only make the loss look that much worse.

Kentucky is a proud program that doesn't lose by almost 20 points too often, so this was certainly a moment for even average college basketball fans to take notice.

Low: Feb. 2—Epic Collapse Causes Doubts

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The loss to Auburn was the worst of the season, but arguably the most dejecting defeat came a few weeks later at Tennessee.

Kentucky just had a "positive loss" on the road in overtime against Kansas, and a win over Tennessee could have been enough to quiet concerns about the performance away from home. After jumping out to a 34-13 lead, it seemed like we were finally seeing what this team was capable of producing.

Unfortunately, things went south from there. The 21-point lead evaporated, and by the end of the second half, Tennessee moved comfortably in front before clinching the win. The shooting was poor, the defense was poor and the team again looked disinterested in a losing effort.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M had moved to 7-1 in the conference and seemed likely to run away with the SEC regular-season title.

Losing to Auburn was bad, but this was completely deflating for the Wildcats.

High: Feb. 13—Wildcats Flex Their Muscles

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Fans were waiting all year long for Kentucky to finally live up to expectations and show what it can do, and perhaps the best stretch came during February's four-game winning streak. The squad put together a 19-point win over Florida and 34-point victory over Georgia, but the most impressive game might have been the 89-62 road win over South Carolina.

The game could have been remembered as a low point after Calipari was ejected within the first three minutes, but the Wildcats answered with one of the most complete performances of the season.

While South Carolina has had its issues, it remains one of the best teams in the SEC and otherwise hasn't lost at home this season. Despite the challenge, Kentucky was dominant on both ends of the court. The Gamecocks were held to just 32.7 percent shooting, while Ulis and Murray predictably carried the load offensively.

Kentucky showed it was capable of winning on the road as well as blowing out a quality opponent. After avenging the loss to Tennessee in the next game, the Wildcats had also taken control of the conference for the first time all year.

Losses to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt have once again made things interesting in the SEC, but the 27-point road win will stand as one of the most impressive moments of the 2015-16 season. 

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