Bracketology Roundup: Kentucky a consensus No. 6 seed

MrsTylerKSR

kentucky-bracketology-ncaa-tournament-projections-six-seed — Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

It’s a Friday in February, which means we’ve got a fresh batch of Bracketology to talk about. Kentucky is trending as a No. 6 seed across all of the major outlets. That’s down from a No. 5 seed earlier this week. That shows you how little a 32-point win against a team like Vanderbilt moves the needle.

The good news is, the Cats have ample opportunity to improve their resume, with five Quad 1 games left on the schedule, starting with tomorrow’s showdown with Gonzaga. Speaking of the Zags, they are currently on the wrong side of the bubble and at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. If you’re not already tired of that fact, get ready because you’ll hear it a lot over the next 24 hours. Another one: Gonzaga is 0-5 in Quad 1 games, while Kentucky is 2-4. Winning big games is important!

Here’s a rundown of the scenarios Kentucky could face in March. As you’ll see, there are some familiar names.

ESPN

Joe Lunardi moved the Cats down to a No. 6 seed in his daily update last night. His full bracket is out this morning and has Kentucky facing No. 11 seed Indiana State in Pittsburgh in the opening round. The Cats could face No. 3 seed Illinois in the second round, and No. 2 seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16 in Boston.

Kentucky is right on the No. 5/No. 6 seed line in Lunardi’s seed list:

Baylor CORREX (No. 14) pic.twitter.com/CY8j08yPAH
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 9, 2024

The Athletic

Brian Bennett puts the Cats in the South Region as the No. 6 seed. In this scenario, they would face the winner of the No. 11 seed play-in game between Seton Hall — coached by former Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway — and Washington State in Pittsburgh. A potential clash with No. 3 seed Wisconsin waits in the second round. Call this the Demons of the Past draw.

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Kentucky is the No. 23 team on Bennett’s seed list. Tennessee is the top team from the SEC, ranking No. 7 on the list (No. 2 seed), followed by Auburn at No. 11 (No. 3 seed), Alabama at No. 13 (No. 4 seed), and South Carolina at No. 18 (No. 5 seed).

USA Today

USA Today’s panel of Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, and Eddie Timanus also likes the Kentucky vs. Shaheen Holloway storyline. In this scenario, the Cats are a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region facing the winner of No. 11 seed Seton Hall vs. Nebraska in Salt Lake City. If Kentucky exorcises that demon, a rematch with No. 3 seed Kansas waits in the second round.

Gonzaga is the first of the “Next Four Out” in these projections.

Mike DeCourcy

In his bracket for FOX Sports, Mike DeCourcy puts the Cats in the East Region as a No. 6 seed, facing No. 11 seed Utah in the first round. There’s Wisconsin again, waiting in the second round as a No. 3 seed. Sam Dekker isn’t walking through that door, but no thank you to the flashbacks that matchup would trigger.