Oh boy, Joe Lunardi just moved Kentucky back down to No. 3 seed

It might be a tough Friday for Joe Lunardi on the internet streets. One week ago, ESPN’s bracketologist moved Kentucky up from a No. 3 seed to a No. 2 seed. The Cats stayed on the No. 2 seed line in Monday’s update after the big win at Florida. After they beat Missouri 90-77, Lunardi…moved them back down to a No. 3 seed? Huh?

In a teaser for tomorrow’s Bracketology update, Lunardi tweeted that he is bumping Kentucky down a spot even though the Cats took care of business vs. Missouri while four top-five teams lost to unranked opponents. Taking Kentucky’s spot on the No. 2 seed line? (This will really get BBN rolling.) Wisconsin, which beat an unranked Ohio State team on the road. A Buckeyes team that ranks No. 40 in KenPom, I might add. Also ahead of the Cats: North Carolina, a team that Kentucky has already beaten this season. The Tar Heels are Lunardi’s top No. 2 seed.

Oh, Joe. We’ll get the final bracket tomorrow morning. Maybe if Kentucky beats Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday — a Quad 1 game — they’ll be redeemed in his eyes.

Lunardi probably knows what’s coming. He told our Jacob Polacheck last week that he’s used to Kentucky fans coming for him over his projections.

“I have had a bit of a love-hate relationship over the years with Big Blue Nation,” he said. “Sometimes, I feel like they love to hate me. Obviously, they take basketball pretty seriously in the Commonwealth and if I move them down a seed line or two, I usually hear about it in one manner or another. My phone starts to dance.”

Even though Kentucky dropping a seed line in a hypothetical bracket in January is nothing to get worked up about, I bet that phone will be dancing a lot this weekend.

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