Kentucky's NCAA Tournament Team Sheet: Six Games Left

Kentucky’s win over No. 1 Tennessee was the undeniably the biggest of the season, and with three games remaining against Quadrant 1 opponents, the Cats can polish their NCAA Tournament resume up even more in hopes of securing a No. 1 seed. As we do each Monday, let’s examine the Cats’ team sheet.

If you’re not familiar with team sheets, they’re what the Selection Committee uses to pick and seed teams in the NCAA Tournament. Wins are sorted into four quadrants using the opponent’s NET ranking:

• Quadrant 1: Home Game 1-30; Neutral Site 1-50; Away Game 1-75
• Quadrant 2: Home Game 31-75; Neutral Site 51-100; Away Game 76-135
• Quadrant 3: Home Game 76-160; Neutral Site 101-200; Away Game 136-240
• Quadrant 4: Home Game 161-plus; Neutral Site 201-plus; Away Game 241-plus

On the team sheet, the opponent’s NET ranking is listed on the left, followed by the site of the game (home/neutral/away), the name of the opponent, and the result. Quadrant 1 is obviously the most important, but losses in Quadrants 2-4 can be resume killers.

Here’s Kentucky’s team sheet through February 17:

My two cents:

— Kentucky can add a Quadrant 2 and Quadrant 1 win to the sheet this week in No. 92 Missouri and No. 21 Auburn. Even though it feels like Bruce Pearl’s team has fallen off the map, they’re still No. 21 in the NET rankings, making Saturday’s game big. Don’t forget, Austin Wiley didn’t play in last month’s game at Auburn; he’s back in the lineup now and could be a difference maker on Saturday.

— The Cats’ eight Quadrant 1 wins are the third most in the country behind Michigan State (10) and Kansas (9).

— That Seton Hall loss is sure looking better, isn’t it? The Pirates rose five spots in the NET rankings this week after beating Georgetown and Creighton. If they can jump another ten spots, that game will slide into Quadrant 1, making Kentucky’s resume look even better. They play St. John’s on Saturday.

Go Pirates. Go Cats.

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