14 SEC teams make the field, Kentucky holds firm with No. 3 seed in latest Bracketology

It was a crazy day in the college basketball world — and more specifically, the SEC. Widely considered the most dominant conference in history this season, the league tournament was worth the price of admission in the second round with three of the four games featuring late chaos.

Ole Miss started the day with a last-second game-winner to send John Calipari and the Razorbacks home, two missed free throws for Arkansas leading to a Sean Pedulla dagger just before the horn. Billy Richmond nearly got a Gordon Hayward-level half-court heave to fall at the buzzer, but it wasn’t enough and the Rebels moved on.

From there, it was Texas taking down Texas A&M in a rock fight that refused to end, fans treated to not one, but two rounds of free basketball — a 94-89 2OT victory for the Longhorns. That potentially flipped UT’s bubble status from just outside to just inside, a move that would give the SEC as many as 14 teams in the field of 68. It also likely helped the Wildcats if they have dreams of sneaking into No. 2 seed territory as the Aggies were battling to add a few more Quad 1 wins to their resume and jump up a line, Kentucky the primary competition there.

Then you have the widest swing of emotions imaginable in Kentucky vs. Oklahoma, the Cats turning a double-digit lead with 1:26 to go into a one-point deficit with six seconds on the clock, only to have Otega Oweh save the day with a left-handed floater for the win. It may have taken a few years off our lives as members of Big Blue Nation, but goodness, it was fun.

What does it all mean? ESPN’s Joe Lunardi shared his post-chaos Bracketology update going into Friday’s games — some good news and some bad news for the Cats.

For starters, Texas has earned Last Team In status, giving the SEC a record 14 teams in the field, shattering the mark previously set by the Big East in 2011. The Longhorns join Arkansas and Vanderbilt on the right side of the bubble, the Razorbacks and Commodores currently in the group of Last Four Byes.

On the other hand, Kentucky did not move off its No. 3 seed and was still the No. 10 team overall in last night’s update, despite adding an 11th Quad 1 win to the resume.

BYU did beat Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals — the Cyclones, like A&M, battling the Wildcats for positioning in the top 10 seeds. We’ll be monitoring how Texas Tech (Big 12), Michigan State (Big 10) and St. John’s (Big East) do in their conference tournaments on Friday, those teams currently sitting ahead of Kentucky in the latest projections. It’ll take an upset win over Alabama for Mark Pope’s bunch to even have a shot at a No. 2 seed — not even worth having the conversation with a loss, that almost certainly solidifying a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday.

Just keep winning and everything else will sort itself out.

This update has Kentucky in the West Region, starting in Milwaukee vs. No. 14 seed Robert Morris — remember the Colonials? — before a potential second-round matchup vs. No. 6 seed Illinois or the winner of No. 11 seeds San Diego State vs. North Carolina for a spot in the Sweet 16. From there, it’d be a potential battle vs. No. 2 seed Texas Tech to advance to the Elite Eight, then vs. No. 1 seed Florida for a spot in the Final Four.

As for the SEC teams, Kentucky is joined by Auburn (1), Florida (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (2), Texas A&M (3), Ole Miss (5), Missouri (7), Mississippi State (9), Georgia (9), Oklahoma (10), Arkansas (11) and Vanderbilt (11) to make up the record-setting 14 total.

Take a look at the field:

Can the Cats move up?