Kentucky's NCAA Tournament resume after the loss to Alabama

Fifteen games into the season, there is no sugarcoating it: Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament resume looks rough. The Cats are down to No. 46 in the NET Rankings, a ten-spot drop from before the Alabama game. When you break down the team sheet, it gets even uglier.

Following the 26-point loss to the Crimson Tide, Kentucky is now 0-4 in Quad 1 games. For reference, 86 of the 363 teams in Division I have a Quad 1 win at this point. Kansas has six; UConn, Purdue, Arizona, and Miami (FL) five; and Iowa, Texas, Providence, Kansas State, and Pittsburgh four. Kentucky has zero, in four opportunities, and lost those games by an average margin of 16.5 points. Thankfully, the NET no longer includes scoring margin in its formula.

Go down one level, to Quad 2. Kentucky is 1-1, with a loss to Michigan State (NET 52) and a win over Michigan (NET 77). The wins over Yale and LSU are now in Quad 3. Thankfully, the Cats are undefeated in Quads 3 and 4, where losses really become resume busters; however, without any Quad 1 wins and only one Quad 2 win, this is not an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume. If you go just by wins and losses, Kentucky’s 10-5 mark is tied for 82nd in the country; the Cats’ 0-3 mark in true road games is 295th. Oof.

Here is the team sheet as of January 9, 2023.

Quad 1: 0-4

Home: 1-30, Neutral: 1-50, Away: 1-75

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
2	01/14/2023	at Tennessee
2	02/18/2023	Tennessee
4	01/28/2023	Kansas
6	01/07/2023	at Alabama	L 52-78
7	12/17/2022	UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, New York, NY)	L 53-63
12	11/20/2022	at Gonzaga	L 72-88
16	03/04/2023	at Arkansas
16	02/07/2023	Arkansas
32	12/28/2022	at Missouri	L 75-89
44	02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.
70	02/22/2023	at Florida

Quad 2: 1-1

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
33	02/25/2023	Auburn
52	11/15/2022	Michigan St. (Champions Classic, Indianapolis, IN)	L 77-86 (2 OT)
70	02/04/2023	Florida
77	12/04/2022	Michigan (London Showcase, London, England)	W 73-69
94	01/31/2023	at Ole Miss
115	01/24/2023	at Vanderbilt
119	02/11/2023	at Georgia

Quad 3: 3-0

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
80	12/10/2022	Yale	W 69-59
82	01/21/2023	Texas A&M
90	01/03/2023	LSU	W 74-71
115	03/01/2023	Vanderbilt
119	01/17/2023	Georgia
126	11/11/2022	Duquesne	W 77-52

Quad 4: 6-0

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

NET Ranking	Date	Opponent	Result
264	01/10/2023	South Carolina
266	11/29/2022	Bellarmine	W 60-41
267	11/23/2022	North Florida	W 96-56
301	11/07/2022	Howard	W 95-63
338	11/17/2022	South Carolina St.	W 106-63
345	12/31/2022	Louisville	W 86-63
360	12/21/2022	Florida A&M	W 88-68

The Road Ahead

The obvious solution to Kentucky’s woes is winning. Thankfully, tomorrow night is the easiest game left on the schedule. South Carolina is No. 264 in the NET, making it the only Quad 4 contest remaining. Unfortunately, it’s followed up by the toughest game on the schedule, a trip to Tennessee (NET No. 2). After the loss to Alabama, it’s hard to have any faith going into Knoxville. From there, Kentucky has two Quad 3 games (Georgia and Texas A&M at home) before going to Vanderbilt (Quad 2) and hosting Kansas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, a monster Quad 1 opportunity. For resume purposes, picking up a win at Tennessee or against Kansas at home would be huge. Based on Saturday, Kentucky has a lot of work to do to make that a possibility.

Here is the schedule with each team’s NET ranking and where the game would currently fall on the team sheet.

Date	Opponent	NET Ranking	Quad
01/10/2023	South Carolina	264	Q4
01/14/2023	at Tennessee	2	Q1
01/17/2023	Georgia	119	Q3
01/21/2023	Texas A&M	82	Q3
01/24/2023	at Vanderbilt	115	Q2
01/28/2023	Kansas	4	Q1
01/31/2023	at Ole Miss	94	Q2
02/04/2023	Florida	70	Q2
02/07/2023	Arkansas	16	Q1
02/11/2023	at Georgia	119	Q2
02/15/2023	at Mississippi St.	44	Q1
02/18/2023	Tennessee	2	Q1
02/22/2023	at Florida	70	Q1
02/25/2023	Auburn	33	Q2
03/01/2023	Vanderbilt	115	Q3
03/04/2023	at Arkansas	16	Q1