Kentucky WBB on the rise in ESPN's latest Bracketology

It took a couple of blowout wins against SEC opponents, but Kentucky women’s basketball is finally earning some national respect. It was only one spot, but the Wildcats did at least move up in the latest AP Top 25 Poll released on Monday. The folks at ESPN were much more rewarding for UK’s hot start to conference play though.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN analyst Charlie Creme dropped his updated Bracketology, which included a significant bump in the right direction for the ‘Cats. Creme pushed Kentucky up from a 7-seed to a 4-seed in his projected 2025 NCAA Tournament field. Kenny Brooks‘ team dismantled Mississippi State at home (91-69) and Vanderbilt on the road (96-78) last week — two teams expected to make the postseason.

Creme’s new bracket has Kentucky taking on 13-seed Norfolk State in the opening round with a second-round showdown against the winner of the 5 vs. 12 matchup between West Virginia and James Madison. Brooks spent 18 years coaching at James Madison from 1998-2016.

Kentucky is one of 10 SEC teams included in Creme’s 68-team field. South Carolina (1-seed), Texas (1), LSU (2), Oklahoma (3), Tennessee (4), Alabama (5), Vanderbilt (6), Ole Miss (8), and Mississippi State (9). Florida is listed among the Next Four Out group. UK has already beaten Vanderbilt and Mississippi State; the ‘Cats still have to play the rest of the remaining teams mentioned above.

One of those teams is on the schedule for Thursday night. Kentucky will travel to Gainesville to take on Florida (10-6) at 5:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network. Just keep stacking the wins, ladies.