Kentucky moves up to No. 29 in NET rankings

Kentucky basketball got off to a good start in another big week on Wednesday night in Gainesville. The Wildcats blew a 15-point lead in the first half, but got to the rim at will in the second half, leaving Florida with an 82-74 victory. UK has now won 9 of 10 games in this series with five consecutive victories at “The O’Dome”.

The Cats have logged another quality win and again bolstered their NCAA Tournament resume. After the computers updated on Thursday morning, Kentucky made another jump in the NET rankings. John Calipari’s squad move up six spots to No. 29 overall with three games remaining in the regular season.

Kentucky is now 5-7 in Quadrant 1 games with two victories over Tennessee (No. 3) along with wins against Texas A&M (No. 22), Mississippi State (No. 42), and Florida (No. 55). The Cats are now 5-0 in Quadrant 2 games after Georgia fell to No. 138 in the NET rankings following another blowout loss. UK is a combined 14-7 in Quadrants 1 and 2 with a combined 9-2 record in Quadrants 3 and 4.

Kentucky is currently a consensus No. 9 seed with a very good chance to get bumped up to the No. 8 line the next three games. The Wildcats are currently off the bubble at the moment and could lock up a double-bye for the SEC Tournament very soon.

The upcoming game with Auburn (Feb. 25) is currently considered a Quadrant 2 contest as the Tigers have slipped outside of the top 30 in the NET rankings. Vanderbilt (March 1) is a Quadrant 3 game as the Commodores sit at No. 91 following a bad loss on Wednesday to LSU. The season-finale against Arkansas (March 4) will be a Quadrant 1A game as the Hogs are No. 15 in the NET despite an 8-7 SEC record.

Kentucky is very close to having an at-large bid completely locked up. Take care of the two remaining home games, and the Cats could be a No. 8 seed entering conference tournament week.