Kentucky holds firm as No. 3 seed in ESPN's first Bracketology of 2025

The Cats closed as a No. 3 seed in 2024, and now, are opening as a No. 3 seed in 2025. New year, same Kentucky — at least until SEC play begins this weekend.

In Joe Lunardi’s first Bracketology update for ESPN following the ball drop, Mark Pope’s group got reshuffled a bit, now in the Midwest Region with a starting point in Milwaukee. The seed-line, though, remains the same.

Kentucky would take on No. 14 seed Kent State in the first round, followed by a potential date with No. 6 Purdue in the Round of 32 for a spot in the Sweet 16. From there, the Cats would head to Indianapolis where they would potentially take on No. 2 Marquette or even a rematch vs. No. 7 Clemson. Advance to the Elite Eight and they’d have No. 1 Tennessee waiting for them — or No. 9 Arkansas, potentially, with No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Illinois also in the top-half of the region.

The previous update had UK in the West, which would have sent the Cats to San Francisco in the second weekend. This version would certainly be more favorable for Big Blue Nation, no matter how bad Indianapolis has been for the program in recent years. Time to get rid of those old demons in this new era for the program, right?

Elsewhere, just 12 SEC teams remain in the field — which would still be an all-time record for any conference — with Vanderbilt now one of the first four out next to Missouri. If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you could see that as 14 teams on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament, assuming the Commodores and Tigers stack some big-time wins in the league (preferably not against Kentucky).

• Tennessee: No. 1 seed
• Auburn: No. 1 seed
• Florida: No. 2 seed
• Alabama: No. 2 seed
• Kentucky: No. 3 seed
• Texas A&M: No. 3 seed
• Mississippi State: No. 4 seed
• Oklahoma: No. 6 seed
• Ole Miss: No. 8 seed
• Georgia: No. 8 seed
• Arkansas: No. 9 seed
• Texas: No. 10 seed

Take a look at the complete field:

What do you think, BBN? Fair or foul?