Kentucky still a two-seed in new Bracketology

It’s a Friday in February, which means we’ve got new NCAA Tournament projections to pore over. Kentucky remains a No. 2 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, which dropped this morning. The Cats are in the South Region, with Baylor as the No. 1 seed, playing opening rounds in Pittsburgh. In this particular fake bracket, there’s a potential rematch with North Carolina in the second round.

Here are the top three seed lines:

• No. 1: Auburn (Midwest), Gonzaga (West), Purdue (East), Baylor (South)
• No. 2: UCLA (Midwest), Arizona (West), Duke (East), Kentucky (South)
• No. 3: Kansas (Midwest), Texas Tech (West), Houston (East), Michigan State (South)

Lunardi has six SEC teams in: Auburn (No. 1 seed), Kentucky (No. 2 seed), Alabama (No. 5 seed), Tennessee (No. 6 seed), LSU (No. 6 seed), and Arkansas (No. 8 seed). Florida and Mississippi State are the first two teams out. Lunardi believes Auburn will be an automatic qualifier, meaning they’ll win the SEC Tournament.

The Cats are still a No. 3 seed in Jerry Palm’s projections, knocking on the door of a No. 2 seed. Shelby Mast of Bracket Wag has Kentucky as the No. 2 seed to Purdue’s No. 1 seed in the East Region. Same thing in The Athletic’s Bracket Watch, although Duke is the No. 3 seed in the East in that scenario. Rematch with the Blue Devils in the Sweet 16?