SEC Tournament seeding possibilities open up for Kentucky

Georgia and Vanderbilt both secured marquee wins this week to help bolster their at-large resume for the NCAA Tournament. That helps Kentucky after the Cats took care of business against Oklahoma in a thrilling road victory that saw Otega Oweh put the team on his back.

Kentucky is still technically alive for the final double-bye spot but now has a clear path to the No. 6 seed as they are just one game back from Texas A&M after Buzz Williams‘ team dropped their third game in row with remaining games against Auburn and Florida on the schedule.

There is still a chance that the Cats could open the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, but the No. 9 seed could be the floor as long as Vanderbilt and Arkansas do not get hot.

Current standings

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

Kentucky is currently tied with Ole Miss at 8-7 with three games to play. The Rebels own the tiebreaker due to the head-to-head win in Oxford. The Cats are only one game back of Texas A&M and own the tiebreaker. The Cats are only two games back of Tennessee and Missouri and could own both those tiebreakers if they beat the Tigers in the season finale.

Winning out would get UK to 11-7. Climbing to the No. 3 seed feels impossible because it would call for Florida to lose four consecutive games to end the season, but getting to the No. 4 seed could be feasible if the Cats catch some bounces. Tennessee has games against Alabama and Ole Miss remaining on the schedule. The Cats will get a swing at Missouri a week from Saturday. Dennis Gates‘ squad has to go to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma over the next two games.

Climbing to the No. 4 or No. 5 seed is possible if Kentucky wins out.

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 right in the mix.

The algorithm is calling for UK to land the No. 6 seed with three games to play.

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

It’s truly pretty simple: If Kentucky goes at least 2-1 down the stretch and Texas A&M goes 1-2 down the stretch, there is a very good chance that the Cats would start the SEC Tournament on Thursday in the after dark window at 10:00 p.m. ET. Guess who they might play there? Arkansas.

Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss are all teams worth monitoring as they are either tied are within one game of Kentucky. The Cats only own the direct tiebreaker over Mississippi State.

SEC Schedule

Saturday (March 1)

• No. 1 Auburn at No. 17 Kentucky (1:00 | ABC)
• Arkansas at South Carolina (1:00 | SEC Network)
• Oklahoma at Ole Miss (2:00 | ESPN2)
• LSU at No. 24 Mississippi State (3:30 | SEC Network)
• No. 6 Alabama at No. 5 Tennessee (4:00 | ESPN)
• No. 14 Missouri at Vanderbilt (6:00 | SEC Network)
• Georgia at Texas (8:00 | ESPN2)
• No. 12 Texas A&M at No. 3 Florida (8:30 | SEC Network)

Tuesday (March 4)

• Georgia at South Carolina (6:00 | SEC Network)
• LSU at No. 17 Kentucky (7:00 | ESPN2)
• Texas at No. 24 Mississippi State (8:00 | SEC Network)
• No. 1 Auburn at No. 12 Texas A&M (9:00 | ESPN)
• Arkansas at Vanderbilt (10:00 | SEC Network)

Wednesday (March 5)

• No. 3 Florida at No. 6 Alabama (7:00 | ESPN2)
• No. 14 Missouri at Oklahoma (8:00 | SEC Network)
• No. 5 Tennessee at Ole Miss (9:00 | ESPN2)

Saturday (March 8)

• No. 24 Mississippi State at Arkansas (Noon | SEC Network)
• Vanderbilt at Georgia (Noon | ESPNU)
• No. 17 Kentucky at No. 14 Missouri (1:00 | ESPN)
• South Carolina at No. 5 Tennessee (2:00 | SEC Network)
• No. 6 Alabama at No. 1 Auburn (2:00 | ESPN)
• No. 12 Texas A&M at LSU (4:00 | SEC Network)
• Ole Miss at No. 3 Florida (6:00 | SEC Network)
• Oklahoma at Texas (8:00 | SEC Network)