Alabama, Kentucky make significant moves after upset wins in new Joe Lunardi Bracketology update

Two crucial SEC games took place Saturday with NCAA Tournament seeding implications. Alabama and Auburn squared off in a thriller at Neville Arena while Kentucky took on Missouri at Mizzou Arena.

The Crimson Tide and the Wildcats emerged victorious with upset wins in their respective games. As a result, they made significant moves in Joe Lunardi’s latest ESPN Bracketology update.

Alabama went from the No. 6 overall seed to the No. 5 seed, moving into the Midwest Region, according to Lunardi. Kentucky, meanwhile, went from the No. 4-seed line to a No. 3 seed – and the No. 12 overall team in the field.

Updated Bracket s per @ESPNLunardi pic.twitter.com/GHLAMOLef7

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 8, 2025

Saturday’s Alabama vs. Auburn game was a highly anticipated rematch of the Iron Bowl of Basketball after the two teams’ thriller in February. Alabama mounted a charge to make things interesting before Auburn pulled away for the 94-85 victory at Coleman Coliseum.

It lived up to the billing. In fact, the game required five extra minutes to decide who would come out on top to end the regular season.

Overtime was played in the margin of four points. Neither team was able to pull away in the final period, and that set the stage for one final possession. Labaron Philon brought the ball up, and he kicked it to Mark Sears just outside the three-point line. He then went around the bend with his left hand and put up the floater.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats had SEC tournament seeding on the line. With the victory over Missouri, they avoided the No. 8 seed in Nashville. UK will now be either a No. 5 seed, No. 6 seed or No. 7 seed.

Another monster performance from Otega Oweh propelled Kentucky to the 91-83 victory in Columbia. He had a team-high 22 points to lead the charge, while Andrew Carr had 16 points to go with 12 rebounds. Amari Williams also dished a team-leading eight assists while facilitating the offense.

“This was definitely a win that we needed and we wanted to get bad,” Oweh said after the game. “The last game of the regular season, and it’s on the road too. So, these are the types of match-ups that we live for, and we knew we had to come onto the road and play with some grit, some intensity, and, we just had to guard, because we’re going to score on offense, like just with all the weapons we have, but our biggest thing is guarding and we did that today.”