NCAA Resume Watch: Kentucky's path ahead after very bad week

As you might expect, back-to-back losses did not help Kentucky in the NET Rankings. The Cats are down to No. 26 this morning, a three-spot drop from a week ago and their lowest position in the NET since December. The loss to Florida was Kentucky’s first Quad 2 loss of the season. The loss to Tennessee took Kentucky’s Quad 1 record to 2-4, which ranks No. 55 in Division I. It’s been almost a month since Kentucky won a Quad 1 game.

Half of Kentucky’s 10 remaining games are Quad 1, which means the Cats still have ample opportunity to improve their resume ahead of Selection Sunday. The bad news is, three of those games are against teams in the NET Top 10: Alabama (No. 5), Tennessee (No. 6), and Auburn (No. 8). Only one of those three is at home, vs. Alabama on Feb. 24.

As we’ll do each Monday from now until Selection Sunday, let’s look at Kentucky’s team sheet, which the Selection Committee will use as it determines the Cats’ seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Quad 1: 2-4 (5 games remaining)
• Quad 2: 3-1 (2 games remaining)
• Quad 3: 4-1 (2 games remaining)
• Quad 4: 6-0 (1 game remaining)

Quad 1: 2-4

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

NET	Date	Opponent	Result
5	2/24/2024	Alabama
6	3/9/2024	at Tennessee
6	02/03/2024	Tennessee	L 92-103
8	2/17/2024	at Auburn
9	12/16/2023	North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic)	W 87-83
10	11/14/2023	Kansas (Champions Classic)	L 84-89
27	2/10/2024	Gonzaga
38	01/23/2024	at South Carolina	L 62-79
39	01/06/2024	at Florida	W 87-85
44	2/27/2024	at Mississippi State
50	01/13/2024	at Texas A&M	L 92-97 (1 OT)

Quad 2: 3-1

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

NET	Date	Opponent	Result
39	1/31/2024	Florida	L 91-94 (1 OT)
44	1/17/2024	Mississippi State	W 90-77
61	2/13/2024	Ole Miss
62	11/28/2023	Miami (FL)	W 95-73
93	2/21/2024	at LSU
131	1/27/2024	at Arkansas	W 63-57

Quad 3: 4-1

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

NET	Date	Opponent	Result
87	11/20/2023	Saint Joseph’s	W 96-88 (1 OT)
88	1/20/2024	Georgia	W 105-96
113	12/2/2023	UNCW	L 73-80
131	3/2/2024	Arkansas
136	1/9/2024	Missouri	W 90-77
193	12/21/2023	at Louisville	W 95-76
226	2/6/2024	at Vanderbilt

Quad 4: 6-0

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

NET	Date	Opponent	Result
210	12/09/2023	Penn (Neutral)	W 81-66
213	12/29/2023	Illinois St.	W 96-70
217	11/24/2023	Marshall	W 118-82
226	3/6/2024	Vanderbilt
252	11/6/2023	New Mexico St.	W 86-46
328	11/10/2023	Tex. A&M-Commerce	W 81-61
350	11/17/2023	Stonehill	W 101-67

Team Sheet Notes

— How worrisome is Kentucky’s 2-4 Quad 1 mark? Only five teams ahead of the Cats in the NET Rankings have two or fewer Quad 1 wins:

• No. 8 Auburn: 1-3
• No. 18: New Mexico – 2-2
• No. 22: Michigan State – 2-7
• No. 23: Indiana State – 1-3
• No. 24: Utah State – 2-3

— Gonzaga lost to Saint Mary’s over the weekend but remains in the Top 30 of the NET, meaning Saturday’s game at Rupp is in Quad 1 (for now). If you think Kentucky’s 2-4 Quad 1 record is bad, the Zags are 0-5 in Quad 1 games this season.

— Teams ahead of Kentucky in the NET that also have Quad 2 and Quad 3 losses:

• No. 4: Arizona
• No. 21: Saint Mary’s
• No. 25: Florida Atlantic

— Penn is down to No. 210 in the NET, which moves Kentucky’s win over Philly to Quad 4. UNC Wilmington is No. 113, which keeps that loss firmly in Quad 3. (Which is good.)

The Road Ahead

Here is where each remaining game sits on the team sheet according to the current NET rankings. Kentucky couldn’t have picked a better bounce-back opponent. Vanderbilt is by far the worst team left on Kentucky’s schedule and Blue will get into Memorial Gym. Get back in the win column with a Quad 3 victory and then notch a Quad 1 win vs. a struggling Gonzaga team at home on Saturday.

Date	Opponent	NET	Quad
2/6/2024	at Vanderbilt	226	Quad 3
2/10/2024	Gonzaga	27	Quad 1
2/13/2024	Ole Miss	61	Quad 2
2/17/2024	at Auburn	8	Quad 1
2/21/2024	at LSU	93	Quad 2
2/24/2024	Alabama	5	Quad 1
2/27/2024	at Mississippi State	44	Quad 1
3/2/2024	Arkansas	131	Quad 3
3/6/2024	Vanderbilt	226	Quad 4
3/9/2024	at Tennessee	6	Quad 1