Bracketology: Kentucky trending as 8-seed with room to grow

It’s Friday and we’re only 16 days from Selection Sunday, so we’ve got a fresh batch of Bracketology to review. After three straight Quad 1 wins, Kentucky is an 8-seed in most projections. With at least one Quad 1 game left, there is room for the Cats to rise even higher, which is pretty wild considering how bad things looked only a few weeks ago.

Kentucky’s average seed on Bracket Matrix, which aggregates all the bracketologies on the internet, is 8.81. The Cats are included in all 107 brackets, as high as a 6-seed and as low as a 10-seed. Kentucky now has a 97% chance of making the tournament per TeamRankings, a 28.6% rise from last week. BartTorvik goes higher, at 100%, setting the Cats’ average seed at 6.3.

Ready for some hypothetical brackets? Let’s do it.

ESPN: 8-seed in East Region

Joe Lunardi keeps Kentucky as the 8-seed in the East Region in his latest Bracketology. The Cats would face 9-seed Boise State in the first round in Columbus for the chance to face 1-seed Purdue.

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The Athletic: 8-seed in East Region

Kentucky is also the 8-seed in the East Region in Brian Bennett’s new projections for The Athletic. He has them facing 9-seed Nevada in the first round in Columbus. The Cats are the final 8-seed on his seed list behind Duke, Missouri, and NC State. Michigan State, Providence, Texas A&M, and Illinois are his 7-seeds.

East Region

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USA Today: 8-seed in West Region

USA Today’s panel of Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, and Eddie Timanus put the Cats in the West Region as the 8-seed, playing 9-seed West Virginia in the first round for the chance to play 1-seed Houston in the second round. AKA, the Oscar Tshiebwe game. That’s a fun storyline.

In the accompanying writeup, the panel said Kentucky’s turnaround in the past month has been “unthinkable” and said the Cats could be a “trendy pick to make some noise come tournament play.”

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Bracketville: 7-seed in South Region

Kentucky is the 7-seed in Bracketville’s latest projections, facing 10-seed Pitt in Des Moines in the South Region. The path to the regional in Louisville is manageable.

Kentucky is the second 7-seed on Bracketville’s seed list, just ahead of Texas A&M and Arkansas. Auburn, tomorrow’s opponent, is a 9-seed.

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Team Sheet Update, The Road Ahead

Kentucky is now No. 28 in the NET Rankings. The Cats are 5-7 in Quad 1, but that could soon change. Not only does Kentucky end the regular season at Arkansas, a Quad 1A contest, Auburn is No. 31 in the NET, putting tomorrow’s game in Rupp on the cusp of Quad 1. The Tigers have games vs. Alabama and Tennessee remaining. Win one of those and they could move into the NET Top 30, which would bump tomorrow’s game into Quad 1.

Similarly, Michigan is up to No. 53 in the NET after its win at Rutgers. If the Wolverines move into the NET Top 50, the Cats’ win in London will move from Quad 2 to Quad 1. If all goes well, Kentucky could end the regular season 8-7 in Quad 1. Remember, the Cats were just 1-7 in Quad 1 nine days ago.

In bad team sheet news, Georgia is down to No. 138 in the NET, moving Kentucky’s loss in Athens from Quad 2 to Quad 3. Kentucky now has a Quad 3 and Quad 4 loss. If the Bulldogs move back into the NET Top 135, that loss will go back to Quad 2.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet – Feb. 24

• Quad 1: 5-7 (1 game left – at Arkansas)
• Quad 2: 5-0 (1 game left – vs. Auburn)
• Quad 3: 3-1 (1 game left – vs. Vanderbilt)
• Quad 4: 6-1 (0 games left)

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Kentucky’s resume vs. other 7/8 seeds

As mentioned, Kentucky’s resume has room to grow. Here’s how it stacks up vs. other 8-seeds and some teams currently on the 7-seed line, including Duke.