Kentucky WBB projected as 9-seed in 2022 NCAA Tournament

Seven straight wins later and Kentucky has gone from an NIT hopeful to firmly in the projected NCAA Tournament field.

The Wildcats Women’s Basketball team is now looking at a single-digit seed as ESPN’s Charlie Creme tabbed UK as a 9-seed in his latest Bracketology update from Friday morning. Kentucky was recently an 11-seed in Creme’s previous update, but moved up two lines after a dominating win over Mississippi State during 2022 SEC Tournament first-round action on Thursday. UK is now considered the top team among the “Last Four Byes”.

UPDATED BRACKETOLOGY: https://t.co/xHS5b0vmi9

No. 1 seeds and the top 16 held firm, but Thursday brought a lot of bubble movement:

* Florida State moved into the field
* Boston College fell out
* Mississippi State fell out of consideration
* Kentucky moved to a 9-seed pic.twitter.com/ts7I1N5mIh

— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 4, 2022

But here’s the fun part. Creme’s projection drops Kentucky in the same region as Louisville, which is expected to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a one-seed. The ‘Cats would match up against eighth-seeded Creighton in the first round before a potential rematch against Louisville in the Round of 32. The Cardinals beat UK 64-58 in Rupp Arena back on Dec. 12.

It’s been quite an impressive turnaround for Kentucky, with plenty of credit due to head coach Kyra Elzy. The team looked dead in the water not even a full month ago, sitting on a 9-11 overall record and a poor 2-8 mark in SEC play. But Dre’Una Edwards returned from a four-game suspension, several minor injuries fully healed, and continuity was established for the first time all season. Since Feb. 13, UK has rattled off seven consecutive wins.

You could see the rhythm coming along before the win streak, though. Edwards returned on Jan. 30 for a road matchup against then-No. 12 ranked LSU, where Kentucky was in the game until the last few minutes. UK then fell in overtime to Texas A&M before giving No. 1 South Carolina a challenge at Memorial Coliseum, but ultimately lost by nine points. Seven wins in a row followed after the encouraging loss to the Gamecocks.

But Kentucky isn’t done boosting its stock just yet. UK can potentially climb even higher in the seeding if Friday night’s rematch against LSU in the 2022 SEC Tournament quarterfinals goes well. The two-seeded Tigers, ranked No. 6 nationally, will face the ‘Cats at 7:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.