John Calipari keeps warning the UK faithful that his Cats could very well drop one of these early season games to what most would qualify mid-major opponents.Some – most notably those that have irrationally predicted UK will go undefeated this season – scoffed at the notion of losing to an opponent like Miami (Ohio) or Sam Houston State.Well, they aren’t laughing so much anymore. After escaping the Miami game on a last-second game-winner and surviving a barrage of Sam Houston State 3-pointers, maybe we should all listen to Calipari a little more closely.When he says these are good teams, he isn’t kidding.OK, some of it has to do with UK. The 3-point defense has been nothing short of frightful, this team is young and they turn it over too much. But, upon closer look, UK’s non-conference schedule might be a lot tougher than some have given credit for. After watching the Cats scrape by their last two opponents by the skin of their teeth, I decided to scan through the schedule and see what some of the teams were picked to do in their conference. Even though these early adversaries lack the star power appeal of some other schools, these “mid-majors” are clearly a major hurdle in UK’s schedule.

Of these so-called mid-majors UK plays, three – Morehead State, Sam Houston State and Long Beach State – were picked to win their respective conferences. Four other mid-majors — Rider, Cleveland State, UNC Asheville and Austin Peay — were preseason picks to finish second or third in their leagues.And that’s not even factoring in the high-major non-conference opponents. Throw in North Carolina, who was again picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, Louisville and Connecticut from the rugged Big East, and we could be talking about a very tough non-conference schedule by season’s end.Calipari talked in the offseason about playing the best of the best to heighten his team’s RPI. Although the names might not pop off the page, it appears some of the nation’s best have found their way on the UK schedule.