Kentucky holding as a 3-seed in Bracketology, which includes a wild 2nd Round scenario

With five regular-season games remaining, Kentucky is holding steady as a No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament projections. Whether or not the Cats can hang on to that as they continue to play without Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson remains to be seen, but Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology has a second-round scenario that needs discussing.

In today’s update, Kentucky is a No. 3 seed in the South Region, playing its opening-round games in Cleveland. First up: No. 14 seed Chattanooga. Should the Cats make it past the Mocs to the second round, a very familiar foe could be waiting in the wings. Lunardi has No. 6-seed Louisville facing the winner of the No. 11-seed play-in game between Arkansas and VCU. John Calipari vs. Pat Kelsey’s Cards for another crack at the Cats? Can you imagine? Cleveland ain’t ready.

Arkansas is one of five SEC teams Lunardi has on the bubble. Texas, which just beat Kentucky in Austin, gets one of the last four byes, while Vanderbilt and Arkansas are among the last four in. Oklahoma and Georgia are two of the first four out. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the Razorbacks a 32% chance of making the tournament. A win over Missouri on Saturday would certainly help.

Twelve SEC teams are currently in Lunardi’s field, three of them as No. 1 seeds: Auburn, Alabama, and Florida. Tennessee is on the No. 2 seed line and Texas A&M, previously a No. 2 seed, is now a No. 3 seed following the loss at No. 21 Mississippi State, now a No. 5 seed. Missouri, Kentucky’s final opponent of the regular season, is also a No. 5 seed.

That’s just Lunardi’s opinion. Kentucky is a consensus No. 3 seed on Bracket Matrix, which aggregates all 100+ NCAA Tournament projections on the internet. The Cats are the No. 11 overall team, on the No. 3 seed line with Iowa State, Purdue, and Michigan. BartTorvik’s T-Rank Teamcast actually projects Kentucky to climb to the No. 2 seed line if the Cats beat Oklahoma and LSU. I think we’d all take that right now if given the chance.

Just 23 days until we know for sure.

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