Merry Monday: Myron Medcalf picks Kentucky to reach the Final Four

KSR misses its Merry Mondays with Myron Medcalf from last summer. This Monday, though, Medcalf gave the Big Blue Nation a reason to be merry with his contribution to ESPN’s “College basketball midseason picks, predictions, and redos.”

Co-written with colleagues Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s panel of college basketball experts share many of their predictions for the rest of the season, including their changes to their preseason Final Four picks.

Medcalf had Alabama, Duke, Kansas, and Houston in his original Final Four forecast before the season began. However, he changed three of his Final Four teams in Monday’s story, subbing Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky in with Duke. Medcalf also changed his national champion pick from Alabama to Tennessee.

Joe Lunardi changed his prediction for an early Kentucky exit

Included with the updated Final Four predictions are ESPN’s updated picks for the team to get upset in the NCAA Tournament. Joe Lunardi had Kentucky as his first top-25 team to lose in the Big Dance but changed his midseason pick in that spot to Memphis, saying, “When the Tigers are good, they are very good. But when they aren’t — usually from turning the ball over at an unsustainable frequency or giving up too many second-chance points — they lose at home to Arkansas State.”

Lunardi explained his preseason Kentucky pick as “Just a hunch, obviously,” when he made it back on November 4 before Mark Pope had an opportunity to prove himself.

Lunardi ranks UK as the No. 8 overall seed in NCAA projection

In his latest projection for this year’s tournament seeding, Joe Lunardi ranked Kentucky as the eighth-best team in his projected NCAA Tournament field, carrying a No. 2 seed.

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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) January 5, 2025

Kentucky is now the eighth overall seed in Lunardi’s latest projection for this year’s tournament seeding.