Kentucky No. 59 in final NET Rankings of regular season

The regular season is over and for Kentucky to make the NCAA Tournament, they’re going to have to win the SEC Tournament. An at-large bid is out of reach, but just for fun, let’s look at where the Cats landed in the final NET rankings of the regular season.

Right now, Kentucky is No. 59, just ahead of Duke, Indiana, and Davidson. Louisville, projected to be a 10-seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology, is No. 51. The Cats’ No. 59 ranking is good enough for eighth in the SEC. Here’s where each team in the league is in the NET rankings and Joe Lunardi’s latest projections:

• 7. Alabama (2-seed)
• 16. Arkansas (3-seed)
• 18. Tennessee (6-seed)
• 28. LSU (8-seed)
• 29. Florida (9-seed)
• 45. Missouri (8-seed)
• 53. Ole Miss (Next Four Out)
• 59. Kentucky
• 69. Auburn
• 78. Mississippi State
• 94. Georgia
• 109. Vanderbilt
• 134. South Carolina
• 143. Texas A&M

When you look at Kentucky’s team sheet, aka tournament resume, three losses spelled doom. The Dec. 12 loss to Notre Dame (NET: 82) at Rupp is now in Quadrant 3, while the losses to Richmond (NET: 70) and Georgia (NET: 94) losses are in Quadrant 2. Here’s the team sheet just for fun.

Quad 1: 3-12

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

[table id=713 /]

Quad 2: 3-2

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

[table id=714 /]

Quad 3: 3-1

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

[table id=715 /]

Quad 4: 0-0

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

[table id=716 /]

Keep in mind, the Notre Dame and Georgia losses were both by one point. How different would things be if Olivier Sarr’s 15-footer at the buzzer had gone in back in December or Kentucky had played better defense under the basket in the final seconds in Athens? Hopefully the Cats win four in Nashville so we don’t have to wonder.