NCAA Resume Watch: Kentucky moves up in NET with Florida win

Kentucky’s win over Florida was big for many reasons. One, the Cats proved they’re capable of beating a good SEC team on the road. Two, it happened on a day when they weren’t playing their best. Three, it’s good on paper. The Gators are Top 50 in the NET Rankings, putting Saturday’s victory in Quad 1 on Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament resume. The win also boosted Kentucky six spots to No. 17 in the NET, its highest position of the season.

Road wins over good teams are the most valuable in the eyes of the Selection Committee. Kentucky has more tough road games coming — the trip to Auburn looks especially daunting — so by beating Florida in Gainesville, the Cats have given themselves a bit of a cushion should they slip up away from Rupp. That’s quite a luxury to have just one week into the calendar year.

We’re only one game into conference play, so the NET Rankings are still stabilizing, but it’s time to start thinking about Kentucky’s team sheet, which the Selection Committee will use as it determines the Cats’ seed in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, the Cats’ resume looks decent — we need that loss to UNC Wilmington to stay in Quad 3, not Quad 4 — with lots of room to grow.

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

Quad 1: 2-1

Home: 1-30 | Neutral: 1-50 | Away: 1-75

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
5	3/9/2024	at Tennessee
5	2/3/2024	Tennessee
6	2/24/2024	Alabama
8	2/17/2024	at Auburn
10	12/16/2023	North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic)	W 87-83
11	11/14/2023	Kansas (Champions Classic)	L 84-89
32	2/27/2024	at Mississippi State
39	1/13/2024	at Texas A&M
42	1/23/2024	at South Carolina
49	01/06/2024	at Florida	W 87-85

Quad 2: 2-0

Home: 31-75 | Neutral: 51-100 | Away: 76-135

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
32	1/17/2024	Mississippi State
40	11/28/2023	Miami (FL)	W 95-73
45	2/10/2024	Gonzaga
49	1/31/2024	Florida
61	11/20/2023	Saint Joseph’s	W 96-88 (OT)
67	2/13/2024	Ole Miss
97	2/21/2024	at LSU
105	1/27/2024	at Arkansas

Quad 3: 1-1

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
82	1/20/2024	Georgia
105	3/2/2024	Arkansas
117	1/9/2024	Missouri
134	12/2/2023	UNCW	L 73-80
159	12/9/2023	Penn (Neutral)	W 81-66

Quad 4: 6-0

Home: 161-362 | Neutral: 201-362 | Away: 241-362

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
185	11/24/2023	Marshall	W 118-82
223	12/29/2023	Illinois St.	W 96-70
245	3/6/2024	Vanderbilt
245	02/06/2024	at Vanderbilt
263	12/21/2023	at Louisville	W 95-76
272	11/6/2023	New Mexico St.	W 86-46
301	11/10/2023	Tex. A&M-Commerce	W 81-61
352	11/17/2023	Stonehill	W 101-67

A few team sheet notes…

— The first Saturday of league play told us some things. First, Auburn is good and Arkansas is not. The Tigers walloped the Razorbacks by 32 points in Bud Walton Arena, which bumped Auburn from No. 15 to No. 8 in the NET and Arkansas from No. 92 to No. 105. Kentucky’s trip to Arkansas later this month — a marquee matchup in the preseason — is now at the bottom of the Cats’ Quad 2 sheet, which is kind of incredible.

Other surprising Saturday results: LSU beat Texas A&M, which dropped the Aggies 15 spots in the NET. Texas A&M hosts the Cats this weekend. South Carolina beat Mississippi State at home, which means the Gamecocks’ 12-1 record coming into Saturday might not be a fluke. We’ll find out more when Alabama hosts them tomorrow night. Speaking of the Crimson Tide, they struggled on Saturday, only beating a bad Vanderbilt team by three in Nashville (why are the computers so high on them again?). Finally, Ole Miss is not as good as its 13-0 record indicated, with Tennessee handing Chris Beard his first loss as the Rebels’ head coach, a 26-point drumming in Knoxville.

— Here is where Kentucky’s eight remaining road games sit on the team sheet right now:

• Quad 1: at Texas A&M (1/13), at South Carolina (1/23), at Auburn (2/17), at Mississippi State (2/27), at Tennessee (3/9)
• Quad 2: at Arkansas (1/27), at LSU (2/21)
• Quad 4: at Vanderbilt (2/6)

— The home game vs. Gonzaga on Feb. 10 is in Quad 2 but, as I expected, the Bulldogs are climbing the NET now that West Coast Conference play has begun. Last week’s wins over Pepperdine and San Diego boosted the Bulldogs ten spots to No. 45. If they climb into the top 30, the game in Rupp will move to Quad 1. Go Zags?

— UNC Wilmington has lost three straight (Arkansas, Drexel, Towson), resulting in a 23-spot drop in the NET. Kentucky’s loss to the Seahawks is still in Quad 3, but only 27 spots away from Quad 4, where a loss would really hurt the Cats. The committee loves to punish teams for home losses to bad teams. Get it together, Seahawks.

The Road Ahead

Here is where each remaining game sits on the team sheet according to the current NET rankings. This week, Kentucky can pick up a Quad 3 win vs. Missouri at home and a Quad 1 win on the road at Texas A&M.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad
1/9/2024	Missouri	117	Quad 3
1/13/2024	at Texas A&M	39	Quad 1
1/17/2024	Mississippi State	32	Quad 2
1/20/2024	Georgia	82	Quad 3
1/23/2024	at South Carolina	42	Quad 1
1/27/2024	at Arkansas	105	Quad 2
1/31/2024	Florida	49	Quad 2
2/3/2024	Tennessee	5	Quad 1
2/06/2024	at Vanderbilt	245	Quad 4
2/10/2024	Gonzaga	45	Quad 2
2/13/2024	Ole Miss	67	Quad 2
2/17/2024	at Auburn	8	Quad 1
2/21/2024	at LSU	97	Quad 2
2/24/2024	Alabama	6	Quad 1
2/27/2024	at Mississippi State	32	Quad 1
3/2/2024	Arkansas	105	Quad 3
3/6/2024	Vanderbilt	245	Quad 4
3/9/2024	at Tennessee	5	Quad 1

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