ESPN bracketology expert details what Kentucky basketball\u2019s NCAA Tournament seed might be.<\/p>\n
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope speaks to the media after the Wildcats\u2019 91-83 win over the Missouri Tigers in Columbia on Saturday, March 8, 2025. By John Clay<\/p>\n
Postseason play is just around the corner for Kentucky men\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n
Mark Pope\u2019s Wildcats are the 6 seed for this week\u2019s SEC Tournament in Nashville, and UK will begin play in the event on Thursday night in the second round against either 11 seed Georgia or 14 seed Oklahoma.<\/p>\n
Pope has pledged to make SEC Tournament success a priority during his time at UK, a welcomed declaration for a UK fan base that has been starved for success in the conference tournament of late. But there\u2019s another, obvious, reason why all associated with UK basketball should want a strong performance from the Wildcats this week in the league tourney.<\/p>\n
NCAA Tournament seeding implications.<\/p>\n
This was laid out by ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi on Wednesday afternoon during a conference call with media members.<\/p>\n
In his Wednesday morning bracketology update, Lunardi had Kentucky as a 3 seed playing its first- and second-round games in Denver. This latest projection from Lunardi has UK lining up against 14 seed Utah Valley \u2014 the school where Pope got his head coaching start \u2014 in the round of 64. The winner of that contest would face the winner of 6 seed Saint Mary\u2019s and 11 seed VCU in the round of 32.<\/p>\n
This projection calls for Kentucky to be part of the West Region, which will have its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds played in San Francisco. The 1 seed in this projected region is Florida.<\/p>\n
Lunardi said Wednesday that Kentucky\u2019s tournament profile, to him at least, is that of a 3 seed, with a 2 seed likely not in the cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see them as a 2, without probably playing on Sunday (in the SEC Tournament championship game). And that\u2019s realistically as far ahead as we can project the committee reacting,\u201d Lunardi said after being asked by the Herald-Leader about UK\u2019s outlook.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen (the SEC Tournament championship game) tips off at 1:30 on Sunday, Kentucky\u2019s seed is done,\u201d Lunardi added.<\/p>\n
Of course, NCAA Tournament bracketology remains an incredibly fluid process with just days left until Selection Sunday. The full 68-team field for this year\u2019s men\u2019s NCAA Tournament will be revealed at 6 p.m. EDT Sunday during a made-for-TV announcement on CBS.<\/p>\n
Part of this fluid process of projecting what the tournament field will look like \u2014 as well as what seeds teams will earn \u2014 involves evaluating how programs fare in conference tournaments.<\/p>\n
Should Kentucky get past Georgia or Oklahoma in Thursday\u2019s second round of the SEC Tournament, then Pope\u2019s team would play 3 seed Alabama in a Friday quarterfinal. The Crimson Tide have already topped the Wildcats twice this season.<\/p>\n
That potential game would give Kentucky the chance to record a ninth win this season over an opponent ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll at the time of the game. Alabama is currently the No. 5 team in the AP poll. UK is No. 15.<\/p>\n
But, Lunardi listed Alabama as one of three teams that he currently has slotted as a 2 seed for March Madness that he doesn\u2019t think the Wildcats can catch. The other schools in this regard are Tennessee (a team UK has already defeated twice this season) and Michigan State.<\/p>\n
Lunardi said that he could see Kentucky catching and passing Texas Tech for the final 2-seed spot.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that Kentucky enters this week\u2019s SEC Tournament with a significant measure of roster clarity. Fifth-year guards Kerr Kriisa and Jaxson Robinson are both done for the season due to injuries, but the 10 other scholarship Wildcats should be good to go.<\/p>\n
UK\u2019s first injury report for the SEC Tournament will be released Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
ESPN currently projects head coach Mark Pope\u2019s Kentucky team to be a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
ESPN currently projects head coach Mark Pope\u2019s Kentucky team to be a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournaments<\/p>\n
ESPN\u2019s Joe Lunardi explains UK basketball\u2019s NCAA Tournament outlook<\/p>\n
On Wednesday\u2019s media call, Lunardi said Kentucky\u2019s spot as a 6 seed in the SEC Tournament makes it more likely that they will end up as a 3 seed in the national postseason.<\/p>\n
Kentucky didn\u2019t secure a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. As such, Kentucky begins tournament play in the second round instead of in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a 2 is really unlikely,\u201d Lunardi reiterated about UK\u2019s NCAA Tournament outlook. \u201cThey\u2019re more likely to move down than up. But holding at 3 is significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because \u2014 should chalk hold in the NCAA Tournament bracket \u2014 a 3 seed would face a 2 seed in the Sweet 16, rather than a 1 seed.<\/p>\n
Currently, Kentucky shares the 3 seed line in Lunardi\u2019s projections with Iowa State, St. John\u2019s and Texas A&M.<\/p>\n
Right behind them are Lunardi\u2019s 4 seeds: Clemson (which beat UK in December), Maryland, Purdue and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ESPN bracketology expert details what Kentucky basketball\u2019s NCAA Tournament seed might be. Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope speaks to the media after the Wildcats\u2019 91-83 win over the Missouri Tigers in Columbia on Saturday, March 8, 2025. By John Clay Postseason play is just around the corner for Kentucky men\u2019s basketball. Mark Pope\u2019s Wildcats are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[502],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kentucky-wildcats"],"yoast_head":"\n