Lunardi says Kentucky is barely in; warns fans about the trip to Georgia

On this morning’s “SEC Now” over on SEC Network, our pal Peter Burns interviewed ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to pick Lunardi’s brain about the NCAA Tournament following Wednesday’s results in college basketball. In the conversation, Lunardi broke down the Southeastern Conference’s prospective NCAA Tournament teams, including your University of Kentucky Wildcats, and his opinion of the Wildcats’ tournament resume.

As things stand now, Lunardi said Kentucky is the next-to-last team in his tournament field. ESPN’s Bracketology has Kentucky ranked No. 45 of 46 teams chasing at-large bids.

“This is not a great resume,” Lunardi said of Kentucky’s argument for the Dance. He also believes Big Blue Nation should be a little worried about doing further damage to the argument down in Athens on Saturday against the No. 129th-ranked team in the NET, a Quad 2 game on the verge of a Quad 3.

“Going to Georgia, you’d think, hey, this is going to be a walkover, but it’s also the kind of game that can absolutely torpedo your season. If I’m a member of Big Blue Nation, I am a little bit apprehensive heading down to Athens.”

To his point, KenPom’s forecast gives the Wildcats a 65 percent chance of beating the Dawgs.

The Cats won Round 1 in Lexington, 85-71, behind a superman effort from Oscar Tshiewbe and his 37 points with 24 rebounds.

Seven SEC teams dancing at the moment

With Florida’s big loss at Alabama last night, the Gators missed an opportunity to jump from First Four Out to into the field, leaving Kentucky as the sixth SEC team in Lunardi’s projected tournament. Tennessee remained a No. 2 seed with its loss to Vanderbilt, but Lunardi noted the Vols could join Alabama on the No. 1 seed line by tournament time.

He also still includes among his lower tournament seeds: Auburn, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Beat Georgia.