Bracketology: Kentucky now on the No. 6/7 seed line

On Friday, Kentucky was trending as a No. 8 seed in Bracketology. After blowing out Auburn, a fellow tournament team, at Rupp on Saturday, the Cats are climbing. Kentucky is now trending as a No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the latest NCAA Tournament projections. With at least one Quad 1 game left before Selection Sunday, there is still room to grow if the Cats keep things up.

Kentucky is now the top No. 7 seed on Bracket Matrix, which compiles all 97 bracketologies on the internet; the Cats are as high as a No. 5 seed and as low as a No. 9 seed. Kentucky is up to a No. 5 seed on Team Rankings and BartTorvik sets the Cats’ seed at 4.8.

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

ESPN: No. 6 seed in the South Region

Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology dropped this morning and Kentucky has a pretty awesome draw. The Cats are a No. 6 seed in the South Region — so, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Louisville. In this scenario, Kentucky would face the winner of the Wisconsin vs. Arizona State play-in game in Albany for the chance to face No. 3 seed Marquette in the second round. There’s a potential Sweet 16 game vs. No. 2 seed Texas or No. 7 seed Duke and a rematch vs. No. 1 seed Alabama looming in the Elite Eight.

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Bracketville: No. 6 seed in the South Region

Bracketville also likes this scenario. In its projections, Kansas State is the No. 2 seed in the East Region and Missouri the No. 7 seed.

The Cats are the top No. 6 seed on Bracketville’s seed list:

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CBS Sports: No. 7 seed in the East Region

Yesterday, Jerry Palm updated his projections and has Kentucky as the No. 7 seed in the East Region, facing No. 10 seed Memphis in Columbus. A potential second-round matchup vs. Marquette and a Sweet 16-game vs. Duke or Gonzaga await.

Kentucky is the top No. 7 seed on Palm’s Seed List. Missouri, Iowa State, TCU, and Duke are the No. 6 seeds.

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USA Today: No. 7 seed in the South Region

USA Today’s panel also put Kentucky in the South Region, but as the No. 7 seed, facing No. 10 seed Boise State in the first round in Des Moines. Marquette is the No. 2 seed.

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As I outlined yesterday, Kentucky still has opportunities to improve its NCAA Tournament resume. Tomorrow night’s game vs. Vanderbilt is in Quad 3, so will only matter if Kentucky loses, but Saturday’s regular-season finale at Arkansas is in the top half of Quad 1. Pull off a win in Fayetteville and the Cats will have six Quad 1 wins heading into the SEC Tournament. From there, they could pick up two more if they make it to the finals. Win out and a No. 4 seed is not out of the question.

Just keep winning.