Kentucky's NCAA Tournament resume with 10 regular season games left

Believe it or not, there are only ten games left in the regular season. On Saturday, Kentucky had a huge opportunity to improve its NCAA Tournament resume with a win over Kansas. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Can the Cats make up ground? Yes, but the margin for error is small.

Right now, the Cats are 1-6 in Quad 1 games with five Quad 1 opportunities remaining: vs. Arkansas (Feb. 5), at Mississippi State (Feb. 15), vs. Tennessee (Feb. 18), at Florida (Feb. 22), and at Arkansas (March 4). Win at least three of those and put in a decent showing at the SEC Tournament and you’re probably in. Anything less and it’ll be an anxious Selection Sunday in the Bluegrass.

Since Selection Sunday is fast approaching, it’s time to get even nerdier with the team sheet. The Selection 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 win at Tennessee.

• Quad 1: 1-6 (5 games remaining)
  • Quad 1A: 1-4 (2 games remaining)
  • Quad 1B: 0-2 (3 games remaining)
• Quad 2: 3-0 (4 games remaining)
  • Quad 2A: 2-0 (2 games remaining)
  • Quad 2B: 1-0 (2 games remaining)
• Quad 3: 4-0 (1 game remaining)
• Quad 4: 6-1 (0 games remaining)

Here’s Kentucky’s team sheet as of Jan. 30. Currently, the Cats are No. 36 in the NET Rankings, a four-spot drop from where they were after the win at Vanderbilt last week.

Quad 1: 1-6

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
2	01/14/2023	at Tennessee	W 63-56
2	02/18/2023	Tennessee
4	01/07/2023	at Alabama	L 52-78
5	12/17/2022	UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, New York, NY)	L 53-63
8	01/28/2023	Kansas	L 68-77
14	11/20/2022	at Gonzaga	L 72-88
28	03/04/2023	at Arkansas

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
28	02/07/2023	Arkansas
44	12/28/2022	at Missouri	L 75-89
47	11/15/2022	Michigan St. (Champions Classic, Indianapolis, IN)	L 77-86 (2 OT)
50	02/22/2023	at Florida
54	02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.

Quad 2: 3-0

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
31	02/25/2023	Auburn
42	01/21/2023	Texas A&M	W 76-67
50	02/04/2023	Florida
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
83	12/04/2022	Michigan (London, England)	W 73-69
112	02/11/2023	at Georgia
114	01/31/2023	at Ole Miss

Quad 3: 4-0

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
80	12/10/2022	Yale	W 69-59
93	03/01/2023	Vanderbilt
112	01/17/2023	Georgia	W 85-71
129	11/11/2022	Duquesne	W 77-52
137	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
254	11/07/2022	Howard	W 95-63
261	11/29/2022	Bellarmine	W 60-41
272	01/10/2023	South Carolina	L 68-71
296	11/23/2022	North Florida	W 96-56
337	12/31/2022	Louisville	W 86-63
349	11/17/2022	South Carolina St.	W 106-63
359	12/21/2022	Florida A&M	W 88-68

A few team sheet notes:

— After two straight losses (Texas A&M, at West Virginia), Auburn is now No. 31 in the NET, which moves the game vs. the Tigers next month in Rupp to Quad 2. It’s time to cheer for Auburn to pick up some wins so that game on Feb. 25 means more.

— We might also need to cheer for Michigan State. The Spartans are No. 47 in the NET, meaning the loss to them in the Champions Classic is in danger of slipping to Quad 2.

— Tennessee is No. 2 in the NET, making Kentucky’s win in Knoxville the most impressive in college basketball this season. Obviously, sweeping the Vols would be huge for the Cats’ resume.

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 Quad 2 wins at Ole Miss on Tuesday and vs. Florida at home on Saturday.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad
01/31/2023	at Ole Miss	114	Quad 2B
02/04/2023	Florida	50	Quad 2A
02/07/2023	Arkansas	28	Quad 1A
02/11/2023	at Georgia	112	Quad 2B
02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.	54	Quad 1B
02/18/2023	Tennessee	2	Quad 1A
02/22/2023	at Florida	50	Quad 1B
02/25/2023	Auburn	31	Quad 2A
03/01/2023	Vanderbilt	93	Quad 3
03/04/2023	at Arkansas	28	Quad 1A