An updated Bracketology from Joe Lunardi following Tennessee's loss

After losing its opening-round SEC Tournament matchup to Mississippi State on Friday, Tennessee is slowly sliding down the seed line.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has the Volunteers as a two-seed in his afternoon update, but losing to the Bulldogs didn’t do them any favors. Tennessee went from the first two-seed (No. 5 overall) down to the second two-seed (No. 6). Additionally, despite not playing on Thursday night, Lunardi bumped up Kentucky from the second three-seed (No. 10) to the top three-seed (No. 9) on Friday morning.

If Kentucky can beat Texas A&M, a team fighting for its NCAA Tournament hopes, this evening, the Wildcats could move up even higher. A two-seed is very much in play for UK heading into the weekend.

Early update… pic.twitter.com/e0ewHDo5k8

— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 15, 2024

According to Lunardi, only Marquette and Iowa State separate Kentucky and Tennessee in the seeding order. In the Big East Tournament semifinals later today, Marquette is set to face a Providence team that just beat Creighton last night. Meanwhile, Iowa State will take on Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament semis.

A loss from either (or both) would be another boost to Kentucky’s two-seed argument, especially if the ‘Cats can win two games in the SEC Tournament or, best case scenario, the entire championship on Sunday.

At this stage, UK’s path to a possible two-seed is clear: just keep winning (and hope for some help from the Big East and Big 12).