The Kentucky Wildcats cracked the Top 25 once again only to immediately lose to Vanderbilt at home. How does that affect their March Madness outlook?
Any worry that the Kentucky Wildcats wouldn’t be dancing in March Madness are gone. Most Bracketology projections have John Calipari’s team now securely in the field of 68 for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. This comes after the Wildcats finished February getting hot, winning four straight while beating Mississippi State on the road, Tennessee at home and blowing out Auburn.
So it was only natural that Kentucky would immediately start raising questions about itself after climbing back into the AP Top 25 this week, slotting in at No. 23.
On Wednesday night for Senior Night at Rupp Arena against a Vanderbilt team that entered the contest at just 16-13, the Wildcats had one of their worst offensive showings of the year as they hit on only 32% of their shots and going just 3-of-19 from the field.
With those kind of numbers, Kentucky is honestly lucky they didn’t get blown out by the Commodores but, thanks to a clutch Jordan Wright jumper late, Vandy notched the big upset to drop the Wildcats to 20-10 on the season.
Now, Big Blue Nation has to be wondering what this means for the team’s March Madness prospects.
March Madness: Kentucky still a lock but fighting for seeding after Vanderbilt upset
Coming into the game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Wildcats as a No. 6 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament in his latest Bracketology projections. They even had a chance to move up to the 5-line with a convincing win at home.
Instead, Kentucky now takes a Quad 3 loss to hinder its resumé, dropping them to a shocking 3-2 in Quad 3 and 9-3 in the bottom two Quadrants this season.
Make no mistake, Calipari’s team is no longer in danger of being left out of the field of 68. They are secure and not worried about the bubble bursting for them. With that said, the 5-8 seed lines are extremely crowded with teams that have very similar resumés right now. So taking a Quad 3 loss at home is a tough scene.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Kentucky drop a line to being a 7-seed or perhaps even the top 8-seed after getting upset from Vanderbilt. The former is far more likely, for what it’s worth.
Again, this isn’t the doom-and-gloom situation it looked like in mid-February for this team. With that said, though, as the Wildcats finish the regular season at Arkansas on Saturday before the SEC Tournament begins, they certainly need to recapture whatever mojo they had working at the end of last month.
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