Kentucky stays in No. 8 spot as SEC race heats up

Kentucky missed an opportunity for a much-needed road victory as the underdog Cats blew a late multi-possession lead against Texas. The latest defeat dropped UK back to .500 (6-6) in league play with only six games left on the schedule.

But the overall place in the standings did not change.

Kentucky is holding steady at the No. 8 spot, but Mississippi State is closing ground following a big road win to complete a season sweep over rival Ole Miss. There is still time to climb the ladder, but that could be difficult with remaining games against Alabama and Auburn.

Let’s take another closer look at the SEC Tournament race.

Current standings

1. Auburn (11-1)
2. Alabama (10-2)
3. Florida (9-3)
4. Texas A&M (9-3)
5. Missouri (8-4)
6. Ole Miss (8-5)
7. Tennessee (8-5)
8. Kentucky (6-6)
9. Mississippi State (6-6)
10. Vanderbilt (5-7)
11. Texas (5-8)
12. Arkansas (4-8)
13. Georgia (4-9)
14. Oklahoma (3-9)
15. LSU (2-10)
16. South Carolina (0-12)

Kentucky is now tied with Mississippi State with identical 6-6 records but own the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a win in Starkville. The Cats are only one game behind the No. 6 seed but just one game ahead of Vanderbilt. The Commodores would own all tiebreakers against UK if Mark Byington‘s squad completes the season sweep on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.

Auburn took a big step to a regular-season SEC title with a win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon. Missouri remains in the hunt for a double-bye spot. KenPom currently calls for the Tigers to be a betting favorite in each remaining game.

A win against Texas prevented Kentucky from being just one game back of Missouri with a head-to-head game remaining between the two programs on the schedule.

Projected SEC standings

Using KenPom‘s projections, this is what the SEC Tournament field would look like. I used some projected results to find tiebreaker winners. There are seven teams projected to reach double-digit wins. Kentucky is projected to finish three games back of the three-way tie for the No. 4 seed.

A run to the double-bye seems highly, highly unlikely with six games to play.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State currently feel like the two teams to watch. Texas is also lurking while owning the head-to-head tiebreaker against UK. Kentucky must finish a game ahead of Ole Miss to climb above the Rebels. That’s noteworthy since Chris Beard‘s team is already to eight wins. State also has a chance to close strong with remaining contests against Oklahoma (Feb. 22), LSU (March 1), Texas (March 4), and Arkansas (March 8).

1. Auburn (16-2)
2. Florida (14-4)
3. Alabama (13-5)
4. Tennessee (12-6)
5. Texas A&M (12-6)
6. Missouri (12-6)
7. Ole Miss (10-8)
8. Kentucky (9-9)
9. Mississippi State (9-9)
10. Texas (8-10)
11. Vanderbilt (7-11)
12. Arkansas (7-11)
13. Georgia (6-12)
14. Oklahoma (5-13)
15. LSU (3-15)
16. South Carolina (2-16)

Kentucky is projected to open the SEC Tournament in the first game on Thursday against the winner of Mississippi State-South Carolina. The winner of that game would face Auburn in the first game on Friday in Nashville. Getting to 11-7 record could be needed to get out of the eight-spot. That means a 5-1 finish the rest of the way.

Starting the SEC Tournament in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 games seems likely. Playing on Wednesday is also a possibility.

SEC Schedule

Tuesday (Feb. 18)

• No. 8 Texas A&M at No. 22 Mississippi State (7:00 | SEC Network)
• Oklahoma at No. 3 Florida (7:00 | ESPN2)
• South Carolina at LSU (9:00 | SEC Network)

Wednesday (Feb. 19)

• Vanderbilt at No. 15 Kentucky (7:00 | SEC Network)
• Arkansas at No. 1 Auburn (9:00 | ESPN)
• No. 2 Alabama at No. 21 Missouri (9:00 | SEC Network)

Saturday (Feb. 22)

• No. 5 Tennessee at No. 8 Texas A&M (Noon | ESPN)
• No. 22 Mississippi State at Oklahoma (1:00 | SEC Network)
• No. 19 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (3:30 | SEC Network)
• Georgia at No. 1 Auburn (4:00 | ESPN)
• No. 15 Kentucky at No. 2 Alabama (6:00 | ESPN)
• No. 3 Florida at LSU (6:00 | SEC Network)
• No. 21 Missouri at Arkansas (8:00 | ESPN)
• Texas at South Carolina (8:30 | SEC Network)