Kentucky goes West as firm No. 4 seed in latest Bracketology

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky has been flirting with a No. 4 seed in recent days, even after destroying LSU on Senior Night. Why? Those stupid Aggies of Texas A&M upset No. 1 Auburn to jump up to a No. 3 seed and drop the Cats a line — plus Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm rolling through the Big East to solidify a spot in that top 12.

That’s exactly how things look in ESPN’s latest Bracketology update just nine days until Selection Sunday, Kentucky earning a No. 4 seed in the West Region, starting in Providence for the opening weekend before potentially making the trip out to San Francisco for the second.

The Cats have a first-round matchup vs. No. 13 seed High Point before potentially taking on No. 5 seed Michigan or Will Wade and No. 12 seed McNeese in the round of 32. Take care of business there? You earn a potential rematch vs. No. 1 seed Florida in the Sweet 16, followed by No. 2 seed Texas Tech (or maybe even No. 11 seed Arkansas, depending on any potential Coach Cal magic in March) in the Elite Eight.

Take a look at Kentucky’s journey in the West Region:

Auburn, Duke and Houston are the other No. 1 seeds, followed by Michigan State, Alabama and Tennessee as the No. 2s, St. John’s, Iowa State and Texas A&M as the No. 3s and Arizona, Maryland and Purdue as the No. 4s.

A record-breaking 12 SEC teams are projected to make the Big Dance, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M joined by No. 5 seed Missouri, No. 8 seed Mississippi State, No. 9 seed Vanderbilt and No. 10 seed Georgia to wrap up the conference. Oklahoma and Texas are both on the bubble among the first four out.

And the full 68-team field:

Andy Katz, NCAA.com

Kentucky is the No. 13 team overall and, again, a No. 4 seed — albeit in the Midwest — in NCAA.com’s latest update. The Cats are in the region with No. 1 seed Houston, No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 3 seed Wisconsin with an opening-round battle vs. No. 13 seed Akron.

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports

Like his Thursday update, the Wildcats hold firm as a No. 4 for CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm. UK is in the Midwest, though, starting in Seattle for the opening round before returning to Indianapolis for the second weekend.

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It’s No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Akron in the first round, followed potentially by No. 5 Maryland in the second. Houston is the No. 1 seed in the region while Tennessee is the No. 2 and Purdue is the No. 3.

Craig Meyer, USA Today

It’s not all No. 4 seeds for the Cats, as USA Today has this group earning a No. 3 seed alongside St. John’s, Wisconsin and Texas A&M.

Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida are the No. 1s, Tennessee, Michigan State, Alabama and Texas Tech are the No. 2s and Iowa State, Purdue, Arizona and Maryland are the No. 4s.

None of it matters if you win at Missouri on Saturday. Win that one, and you likely lock in a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament to go with your single bye in Nashville next week. Just take care of business and everything else will solve itself.

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