The Kentucky Wildcats had a turbulent run in the Southeastern Conference. They finished ninth in the conference with a 21-13 overall record and 10-8 in the conference. Losing to the Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament matchup made their situation worse.
It’s Selection Sunday now, and teams are waiting to see their names in the field of 68 bracket. While some teams are hoping for their name to just show up on the list, others have nearly secured a spot and are curious to know their position.
The Wildcats are generally projected as a 7 seed on the major bracketology boards with their 21-13 overall record. The Sporting News has listed them as a 7 seed in their final NCAA Tournament field of 68 prediction.
The season was full of ups and downs for them, but winning two games in the SEC Tournament helped their case. They are number 28 on the KenPom college basketball ratings. The Wildcats will likely end up as a 7 seed on the final bracket.
The other three teams projected to be 7 seeds are the Saint Mary’s Gaels, the Miami Hurricanes, and the UCLA Bruins. A lot of bracket predictions have been updated in the last two days, but the Wildcats’ position remains the same.
The teams that the Wildcats lost to in the SEC Tournament, the Florida Gators, they ended up losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC semifinals. Despite the loss, the Gators are projected to be a No. 1 seed in the March Madness bracket on Selection Sunday.
The Commodores played John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks for the conference title and lost 75-86.
Mark Pope Was Disappointed After Kentucky’s SEC Loss
If we look at the box score from the game against the Florida Gators, the Wildcats played just like their opponents or better in most areas. They shot 36-22-80 as compared to Florida’s 35-15-73.
They had two fewer turnovers and the same amount of steals, but what made all the difference in the game was their poor rebounding. The Wildcats only had 29 rebounds while the Gators grabbed 50 rebounds in the game.
“You lose the rebounding battle by 21, you’re not going to win the game,” Pope said. “You have to play really well to beat good teams, and we didn’t play really well.”
Despite the loss, Pope saw something positive in his team’s performance. He said that his team “stayed locked in,” which gave him more hope for the NCAA Tournament.
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