Kentucky's NCAA Tournament Resume got another boost with win over Tennessee

It’s anyone’s guess as to how Kentucky will fare in the final stretch of the regular season given the injuries to Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson. At the very least, the Cats banded together to add another massive win to their NCAA Tournament resume.

Kentucky is back in the top 15 of the NET Rankings this morning, up two spots to No. 15. The Cats are now tied with Tennessee and Alabama for the second most Quad 1 wins (8) in the country behind Auburn (13). Although Kentucky has more Quad 1 losses than the Vols and the Crimson Tide, the Quad 1 segment of their team sheet is very top-heavy with wins, visual proof of their 7-1 record vs. AP Top 15 teams.

Kentucky in Quad 1 Games: 8-6

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
1	03/01/2025	* Auburn
2	11/12/2024	* Duke (Champions Classic)	W 77-72
4	01/04/2025	* Florida	W 106-100
5	01/28/2025	* @ Tennessee	W 78-73
5	02/11/2025	* Tennessee	W 75-64
6	02/22/2025	* @ Alabama
6	01/18/2025	* Alabama	L 97-102
12	01/14/2025	* Texas A&M	W 81-69
14	12/07/2024	* Gonzaga (Seattle)	W 90-89 (1 OT)
21	02/04/2025	* @ Ole Miss	L 84-98
22	03/08/2025	* @ Missouri
27	12/03/2024	* @ Clemson	L 66-70
28	12/21/2024	Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic)	L 65-85
29	12/14/2024	Louisville	W 93-85
30	01/11/2025	* @ Mississippi State	W 95-90
33	02/15/2025	* @ Texas
35	01/07/2025	* @ Georgia	L 69-82
42	01/25/2025	@ Vanderbilt	L 69-74
44	2/26/2025	@ Oklahoma

There’s still room to improve that mark, with five of the seven remaining regular-season games also in Quad 1, including Saturday’s game at Texas. The Longhorns (NET No. 33) are struggling right now, losing their last three including a 103-80 beatdown from No. 2 Alabama last night, but as long as they don’t drop below No. 75 in the NET, that game will stay in Quad 1 (the same goes for all of Kentucky’s road opponents).

On the flip side, no one wants to root for Louisville, but if the Cards fall just two more spots in the NET, the win over them in Rupp Arena will fall back to Quad 2. Thankfully, they play in the ACC, which means they’ve got a pretty easy schedule for the rest of the season. KenPom projects they’ll win all seven of their remaining regular-season games.

Kentucky’s Remaining Schedule by Quad

Speaking of KenPom, Kentucky is up five spots to No. 17 in its rankings today. Yesterday, KenPom projected Kentucky to win only two of its final seven games. This morning, that’s up to four of seven, which would mean the Cats finish the regular season with a 10-8 record in the SEC and 21-10 overall. Of course, the two results that flipped, at Texas and at Oklahoma, are essentially toss-ups.

A 10-8 SEC record would put Kentucky into a tie with Ole Miss for seventh in the SEC standings, with the Cats getting the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament due to the Rebels’ win in Oxford. That would mean playing the first game on Thursday against the winner of Mississippi State and South Carolina for the chance to face No. 1 seed Auburn on Friday.

Here is where each remaining game currently stands on Kentucky’s team sheet with KenPom’s predictions. Again, hard to put a ton of stock into what the computers say given the injury situation the Cats are dealing with right now, but it’s a fun exercise on a day after a big win.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad	KenPom Projection
02/15/2025	@ Texas	33	Quad 1A	81-80 W (51% chance of victory)
02/19/2025	Vanderbilt	42	Quad 2	89-79 W (81%)
02/22/2025	@ Alabama	6	Quad 1A	94-87 L (26%)
02/26/2025	@ Oklahoma	44	Quad 1B	83-82 W (51%)
03/01/2025	Auburn	1	Quad 1A	87-82 L (33%)
03/04/2025	LSU	79	Quad 3	87-73 W (90%)
03/08/2025	@ Missouri	22	Quad 1A	84-81 L (41%)

Selection Committee Top 16 seed reveal on Saturday

We’ll find out what the Selection Committee thinks of Kentucky’s resume so far on Saturday when they reveal the top 16 teams at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The 30-minute special will lead into No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 7 Purdue and feature Adam Zucker, Clark Kellogg, Jay Wright, Seth Davis, and Selection Committee chair Bubba Cunningham.

Kentucky was trending as a No. 4 seed in Bracketology yesterday. After last night’s win, you have to think the Cats will be among the committee’s Top 16 teams. If not, I need to hear why.