Kentucky's NCAA Tournament Resume after the loss to Georgia

Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament resume didn’t look great before the loss to Georgia; the Cats only made things harder on themselves with their performance in Athens. After back-to-back losses, Kentucky is down to No. 46 in the NET Rankings, a 15-spot drop from this time last week. As John Calipari said on Saturday, there are still opportunities left on the schedule — four Quad 1 games — but Kentucky has to take advantage of them or it’s going to be another sad March.

With 27 days until Selection Sunday, let’s examine Kentucky’s team sheet, which the Selection Committee will use as they determine whether or not the Cats deserve an NCAA Tournament bid. The committee breaks Quads 1 and 2 into two parts to further categorize wins and losses. Quad 1A wins are obviously huge, and thankfully, Kentucky has one, the victory at Tennessee. There are two more Quad 1A games left on the schedule, vs. Tennessee at home and at Arkansas to end the regular season.

• Quad 1: 1-7 (4 games remaining)
  • Quad 1A: 1-4 (2 games remaining)
  • Quad 1B: 0-3 (2 games remaining)
• Quad 2: 6-1 (1 game remaining)
  • Quad 2A: 4-0 (1 game remaining)
  • Quad 2B: 2-1 (0 games remaining)
• Quad 3: 3-0 (1 game remaining)
• Quad 4: 6-1 (0 games remaining)

Quad 1: 1-7

Quad 1A: Home: 1-15, Neutral: 1-25, Away: 1-40

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
2	01/07/2023	at Alabama	L 52-78
3	01/14/2023	at Tennessee	W 63-56
3	02/18/2023	Tennessee
5	12/17/2022	UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, New York, NY)	L 53-63
8	01/28/2023	Kansas	L 68-77
12	11/20/2022	at Gonzaga	L 72-88
23	03/04/2023	at Arkansas

Quad 1B: Home: 16-30, Neutral: 26-50, Away: 41-75

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
23	02/07/2023	Arkansas	L 73-88
32	11/15/2022	Michigan St. (Champions Classic, Indianapolis, IN)	L 77-86 (2 OT)
41	02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.
45	12/28/2022	at Missouri	L 75-89
53	02/22/2023	at Florida

Quad 2: 6-1

Quad 2A: Home: 31-55, Neutral: 51-75, Away: 76-100

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
33	01/21/2023	Texas A&M	W 76-67
35	02/25/2023	Auburn
53	02/04/2023	Florida	W 72-67
68	12/04/2022	Michigan (London Showcase, London, England)	W 73-69
93	01/24/2023	at Vanderbilt	W 69-53

Quad 2B: Home: 56-75, Neutral: 76-100, Away: 101-135

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
69	12/10/2022	Yale	W 69-59
125	02/11/2023	at Georgia	L 68-75
126	01/31/2023	at Ole Miss	W 75-66

Quad 3: 3-0

Home: 76-160, Neutral: 101-200, Away: 136-240

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
93	03/01/2023	Vanderbilt
111	11/11/2022	Duquesne	W 77-52
125	01/17/2023	Georgia	W 85-71
146	01/03/2023	LSU	W 74-71

Quad 4: 6-1

Home: 161-357, Neutral: 201-357, Away: 241-357

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
244	11/07/2022	Howard	W 95-63
250	11/29/2022	Bellarmine	W 60-41
253	01/10/2023	South Carolina	L 68-71
254	11/23/2022	North Florida	W 96-56
331	12/31/2022	Louisville	W 86-63
346	11/17/2022	South Carolina St.	W 106-63
359	12/21/2022	Florida A&M	W 88-68

A few team sheet notes…

— Auburn is No. 35 in the NET, so that game in Rupp on Feb. 25 is in Quad 2 for now. If the Tigers rise into the NET Top 30, it will move to Quad 1. Auburn has games vs. Missouri, at Vanderbilt, vs. Ole Miss, at Kentucky, at Alabama, and vs. Tennessee remaining.

— Similarly, Kentucky’s win over Texas A&M on Jan. 21 is on the cusp of Quad 1. The Aggies have games vs. Arkansas, at Missouri, vs. Tennessee, at Mississippi State, at Ole Miss, and vs. Alabama left, so they could very well climb into the NET Top 30.

— The game vs. Vanderbilt in Rupp on March 1 is the ultimate “Can’t-lose” game. Because it’s at home, it will likely remain in Quad 3, meaning a loss there would torpedo any progress the Cats can make between now and then.

— Along those lines, we need Georgia to stay in the NET Top 135, or Saturday’s loss falls to Quad 3.

The Road Ahead

Here’s where each remaining game sits on the team sheet according to the current NET rankings. This week, Kentucky can pick up two Quad 1 wins, one at Mississippi State and one vs. Tennessee at home.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad
02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.	41	Quad 1B
02/18/2023	Tennessee	3	Quad 1A
02/22/2023	at Florida	53	Quad 1B
02/25/2023	Auburn	35	Quad 2A
03/01/2023	Vanderbilt	93	Quad 3
03/04/2023	at Arkansas	23	Quad 1A