Kentucky holding steady in the NET after Florida loss with a crucial week ahead

Kentucky’s loss at Florida did not hurt its NCAA Tournament resume. The Cats were No. 28 in the NET Rankings on Saturday, and they’re No. 28 today. The Gators are No. 9, making them the second-best team Kentucky has faced this season in the eyes of the NET. Kentucky will not be punished for losing to a top-ten team on the road.

That said, the Cats have some work to do this week. Tomorrow night’s game vs. Georgia is in Quad 2, meaning Kentucky needs to take care of business against the Bulldogs, who have lost five of their last six, including a 16-point drubbing at Oklahoma on Saturday. The Cats can’t afford to drop another home game, and Georgia will be desperate for a win. Saturday’s game at Auburn is in Quad 1, one of four remaining Quad 1 games on the schedule and three in Quad 1A, making it a valuable pickup if the Cats can pull it off.

It’s crazy to think that in just four weeks, we’ll be breaking down Kentucky’s real path in the NCAA Tournament. Until then, let’s take a look at their resume and how the Cats can improve their seed.

• Quad 1: 5-7 (Games Remaining: 4)
  • Quad 1A: 3-6
  • Quad 1B: 2-1
• Quad 2: 3-1 (Games Remaining: 2)
• Quad 3: 2-0 (Games Remaining: 0)
• Quad 4: 7-0 (Games Remaining: 0)

Quad 1: 5-7

Quad 1A: 3-6

Home 1-15 | Neutral 1-25 | Away 1-40

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
6	12/05/2025	Gonzaga (Nashville)	L 59-94
9	02/14/2026	@ Florida	L 83-92
9	03/07/2026	Florida
12	11/11/2025	@ Louisville	L 88-96
13	01/27/2026	@ Vanderbilt	L 55-80
13	02/28/2026	Vanderbilt
15	11/18/2025	Michigan State (Champions Classic)	L 66-83
18	01/31/2026	@ Arkansas	W 85-77
21	01/03/2026	@ Alabama	L 74-89
22	01/17/2026	@ Tennessee	W 80-78
24	12/20/2025	St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic)	W 78-66
32	02/21/2026	@ Auburn

Quad 1B: 2-1

Home 16-30 | Neutral 26-50 | Away 41-75

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
22	02/07/2026	Tennessee	W 74-71
25	12/02/2025	North Carolina	L 64-67
43	03/03/2026	@ Texas A&M
67	01/14/2026	@ LSU	W 75-74

Quad 2: 3-1

Home: 31-75 | Neutral: 51-100 | Away: 76-135

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
34	12/13/2025	Indiana	W 72-60
37	01/21/2026	Texas	W 85-80
39	02/17/2026	Georgia
66	01/07/2026	Missouri	L 68-73
68	02/04/2026	Oklahoma	W 94-78
112	02/24/2026	@ South Carolina

Quad 3: 2-0

Home: 76-160 | Neutral: 101-200 | Away: 136-240

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
92	01/24/2026	Ole Miss	W 72-63
94	01/10/2026	Mississippi State	W 92-68

Quad 4: 7-0

Home: 161-362 | Neutral: 201-362 | Away: 241-362

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
163	11/07/2025	Valparaiso	W 107-59
255	11/04/2025	Nicholls	W 77-51
288	12/23/2025	Bellarmine	W 99-85
316	11/26/2025	Tennessee Tech	W 104-54
317	11/14/2025	Eastern Illinois	W 99-53
322	11/21/2025	Loyola Maryland	W 88-46
340	12/09/2025	N.C. Central	W 103-67

Team Sheet Notes

— Cusp Watch: Indiana is No. 34 in the NET, which means the win over the Hoosiers in Rupp is in Quad 2 for now. Same for the win over Texas, No. 37 in the NET. If the Hoosiers and/or Longhorns climb into the Top 30 of the NET, those wins will move up to Quad 1. Georgia is No. 39 in the NET, so it’ll take some work for the Bulldogs to climb into the top 30.

— Kentucky’s five Quad 1 wins are tied with Alabama and Texas for fourth-most in the SEC behind Florida (8-5), Vanderbilt (7-3), and Arkansas (6-6). Nationally, Duke has the most, with 10, followed by Arizona and Michigan with nine, and Florida and Purdue with eight.

— As mentioned, four of Kentucky’s six remaining games are in Quad 1 (three in Quad 1A). The Cats’ remaining schedule is the sixth toughest in the country behind Arizona, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Michigan, and Purdue, according to ESPN’s BPI.

— The analytics don’t have Kentucky faring too well with that tough schedule. KenPom and BartTorvik both project the Cats to win just two of their remaining six games, vs. Georgia at home on Tuesday and at South Carolina a week later. Both of those games are in Quad 2. Picking up any of the remaining Quad 1s would boost Kentucky’s resume considerably.

If you plug those results into BartTorvik’s Teamcast, Kentucky would be a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Road Ahead

How many of those four Quad 1 games can Kentucky pick up? KenPom says the least likely is vs. Florida at home, giving the Cats just a 35% chance to beat the Gators on Senior Day. Of the toss-ups, at Auburn will be the toughest, followed by at Texas A&M and vs. Vanderbilt at home.

Take care of the “Likely” column, and win at least one, preferably two, of the toss-ups, and Kentucky’s resume will be in good shape heading into the postseason.

Likely (≥65%)	Toss-Ups (36%–64%)	Unlikely (≤35%)
Feb 17 – vs. Georgia (Home, Quad 2, 72%)	Feb 21 – @ Auburn (Away, Quad 1A, 39%)	Mar 7 – vs. Florida (Home, Quad 1A, 35%)
Feb 24 – @ South Carolina (Away, Quad 2, 73%)	Feb 28 – vs. Vanderbilt (Home, Quad 1A, 47%)
	Mar 3 – @ Texas A&M (Away, Quad 1B, 45%)

Here is a more chronological look:

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad	KenPom Projection (2/16)
02/17/2026	Georgia	39	Quad 2	W, 85-78 (72%)
02/21/2026	@ Auburn	32	Quad 1A	L, 80-77 (39%)
02/24/2026	@ South Carolina	112	Quad 2	W, 77-70 (73%)
02/28/2026	Vanderbilt	13	Quad 1A	L, 79-78 (47%)
03/03/2026	@ Texas A&M	43	Quad 1B	L, 80-78 (45%)
03/07/2026	Florida	9	Quad 1A	L, 79-74 (35%)

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