Joe Lunardi is celebrating the start of college football with new Bracketology

College football kicks off in force this week. Joe Lunardi is celebrating the only way he knows how: new Bracketology for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Considering very little has happened in the sport since his last update (late July), Kentucky hasn’t moved in Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament projections. The Cats are still the No. 3 seed in the West Region, facing No. 14 seed Furman in the first round in St. Louis and potentially No. 6 seed Kansas in the second round. Should Kentucky make it to the second weekend, we could have our first game vs. BYU of the Mark Pope era in San Jose.

No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 4 seed Arkansas, and No. 5 seed Louisville could be waiting in the Elite Eight. If you count the preseason exhibition vs. the Boilermakers, Kentucky faces all three of those teams this season. The only thing that may be more stressful than the Cats vs. the Cards for a spot in the Final Four is a rematch with John Calipari’s Razorbacks.

Lunardi’s four No. 1 seeds have not changed: Houston (Midwest), Duke (East), Purdue (West), and Florida (South). St. John’s, which Kentucky will face in the CBS Sports Classic, is a No. 2 seed. Lunardi has 14 SEC teams in the field, which would tie last year’s record. In proof that even the Worldwide Leader makes mistakes, he has Missouri listed twice. Maybe one of those No. 8 seeds is supposed to be Mississippi State?

• No. 1 seed: Florida
• No. 3 seeds: Kentucky, Tennessee
• No. 4 seeds: Auburn, Arkansas
• No. 5 seed: Alabama
• No. 8 seeds: Texas, Missouri, Vanderbilt
• No. 10 seeds: Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Georgia

If you’re curious, here are all of the sites for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. St. Louis to Chicago to Indy is my preferred path to No. 9. San Jose sounds lovely, but isn’t quite in the KSR travel budget.

Round	Dates	City	Venue	Host(s)
First Four	March 17 & 18	Dayton, OH	UD Arena	University of Dayton
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Buffalo, NY	KeyBank Center	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Canisius College Niagara University
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Greenville, SC	Bon Secours Wellness Arena	Furman Southern Conference
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Oklahoma City, OK	Paycom Center	Big 12 Conference
First/Second	March 19 & 21	Portland, OR	Moda Center	Oregon State University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	Tampa, FL	Benchmark International Arena	University of South Florida
First/Second	March 20 & 22	Philadelphia, PA	Xfinity Mobile Arena	Saint Joseph’s University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	San Diego, CA	Viejas Arena	San Diego State University
First/Second	March 20 & 22	St. Louis, MO	Enterprise Center	Missouri Valley Conference
South Regional	March 26 & 28	Houston, TX	Toyota Center	University of Houston
West Regional	March 26 & 28	San Jose, CA	SAP Center	San Jose State University
Midwest Regional	March 27 & 29	Chicago, IL	United Center	Northwestern University
East Regional	March 27 & 29	Washington, D.C.	Capital One Arena	Georgetown University
Final Four	April 4 & 6	Indianapolis	Lucas Oil Stadium	Horizon League IU Indianapolis