Kentucky's NCAA Tournament Resume With 8 Regular-Season Games Left

Kentucky’s still riding the NCAA Tournament bubble with eight games left in the regular season; thankfully, there are still some good opportunities to improve the resume.

Last week, the Cats notched two Quad 2 wins vs. Ole Miss and Florida. Yale is up to No. 66 in the NET Rankings, which moves that win from December from Quad 3 to Quad 2. Kentucky’s record in Quad 2 is now 6-0. The Cats are up to No. 31 in the NET Rankings.

Right now, the Cats are 1-6 in Quad 1 games with six Quad 1 opportunities remaining: vs. Arkansas (Feb. 5), at Mississippi State (Feb. 15), vs. Tennessee (Feb. 18), at Florida (Feb. 22), vs. Auburn (Feb. 25), and at Arkansas (March 4). Win at least three of those, don’t lose to Georgia or Vanderbilt, and put in a decent showing at the SEC Tournament and you’re probably in.

Since Selection Sunday is fast approaching, it’s time to get even nerdier with the team sheet. The Selection Committee breaks Quads 1 and 2 into two parts to further categorize wins and losses. Quad 1A wins are obviously huge, and thankfully, Kentucky has one, the victory at Tennessee. There are two more Quad 1A games left on the schedule, vs. Tennessee at home and at Arkansas to end the regular season.

• Quad 1: 1-6 (6 games remaining)
  • Quad 1A: 1-4 (2 games remaining)
  • Quad 1B: 0-2 (4 games remaining)
• Quad 2: 6-0 (1 game remaining)
  • Quad 2A: 3-0 (0 games remaining)
  • Quad 2B: 3-0 (1 game remaining)
• Quad 3: 3-0 (1 game remaining)
• Quad 4: 6-1 (0 games remaining)

Quad 1: 1-6

Quad 1A: Home: 1-15, Neutral: 1-25, Away: 1-40

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
2	01/14/2023	at Tennessee	W 63-56
2	02/18/2023	Tennessee
3	01/07/2023	at Alabama	L 52-78
5	12/17/2022	UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, New York, NY)	L 53-63
10	01/28/2023	Kansas	L 68-77
11	11/20/2022	at Gonzaga	L 72-88
29	03/04/2023	at Arkansas

Quad 1B: Home: 16-30, Neutral: 26-50, Away: 41-75

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
29	02/07/2023	Arkansas
30	02/25/2023	Auburn
43	02/22/2023	at Florida
45	11/15/2022	Michigan State (Champions Classic, Indianapolis, IN)	L 77-86 (2 OT)
46	02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.
48	12/28/2022	at Missouri	L 75-89

Quad 2: 6-0

Quad 2A: Home: 31-55, Neutral: 51-75, Away: 76-100

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
40	01/21/2023	Texas A&M	W 76-67
43	02/04/2023	Florida	W 72-67
68	12/04/2022	Michigan (London Showcase, London, England)	W 73-69

Quad 2B: Home: 56-75, Neutral: 76-100, Away: 101-135

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
66	12/10/2022	Yale	W 69-59
107	01/24/2023	at Vanderbilt	W 69-53
124	01/31/2023	at Ole Miss	W 75-66
126	02/11/2023	at Georgia

Quad 3: 3-0

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
107	03/01/2023	Vanderbilt
121	11/11/2022	Duquesne	W 77-52
126	01/17/2023	Georgia	W 85-71
138	01/03/2023	LSU	W 74-71

Quad 4: 6-1

Home: 161-357, Neutral: 201-357, Away: 241-357

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
245	11/07/2022	Howard	W 95-63
260	11/29/2022	Bellarmine	W 60-41
264	11/23/2022	North Florida	W 96-56
276	01/10/2023	South Carolina	L 68-71
328	12/31/2022	Louisville	W 86-63
351	11/17/2022	South Carolina St.	W 106-63
359	12/21/2022	Florida A&M	W 88-68

A few team sheet notes…

— Arkansas and Auburn are Nos. 29 and 30 in the NET, which puts Kentucky’s home games against them in Quad 1 for now. Root for both teams to stay in the NET Top 30 so those games mean more.

— Similarly, Michigan State is No. 45 in the NET. If they drop out of the NET Top 50, that loss in the Champions Classic drops to Quad 2.

— The loss to South Carolina isn’t going anywhere. The Gamecocks are terrible, No. 276 in the NET, leaving that loss in Rupp firmly in Quad 4, a big blemish on Kentucky’s resume. Quad 1A wins can help offset it, but it will come up as the Selection Committee discusses the Cats.

The Road Ahead

Here’s where each remaining game sits on the team sheet according to the current NET rankings. This week, the Cats can pick up a Quad 1 win vs. Arkansas and a Quad 2 win at Georgia.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad
02/07/2023	Arkansas	29	Quad 1B
02/11/2023	at Georgia	126	Quad 2B
02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.	46	Quad 1B
02/18/2023	Tennessee	2	Quad 1A
02/22/2023	at Florida	43	Quad 1B
02/25/2023	Auburn	30	Quad 1B
03/01/2023	Vanderbilt	107	Quad 3
03/04/2023	at Arkansas	29	Quad 1A

Just keep winning.