Updated Capital One Cup Standings

Thanks to a 7th place finish in the final national men's tennis rankings, UK has received 4 additional points in the Capital One Cup standings. Kentucky is now only 5 points behind North Carolina for the lead, and has one more team still playing who could propel the Cats to the top of men's colliegiate athletics in the 2011-12 school year: the UK baseball team. The only problem is that UNC is also alive in the NCAA baseball tournament as one of the Top 8 national seeds. Even if you don't care much for baseball, finishing as the top Division I men's athletic program in the entire country would be quite the accomplishment. To earn additional points, UK must finish the season ranked in the Top 10 in one of the national coaches' polls recognized by the NCAA. The Cats are currently ranked between 11th and 13th in the 4 national polls. In order to pass UNC for the #1 spot in the Cup Standings, however, they'll need to advance further than the Tar Heels, which could possibly require a trip to the College World Series in Omaha unless UNC were to be upset early. There's a lot of different scenarios that could happen, but take a look at the scoring system below. The easiest scenario for the Cats would be if UNC flames out this weekend, drops out of the top 10, and UK survives the Gary Regional and receives at least 6 points for a 9th place finish or better. The more likely reality is that UK will need to get to Omaha, and if UNC is there as well, it could come down to a head-to-head matchup. The road to Omaha and the Capital One Cup begins Friday in Gary, IN. I never thought my UK fandom would ever bring me to Gary, IN for a baseball game, but it will as David Mulloy and I will be covering the Saturday and Sunday games this weekend for KSR. Check back later tonight for a preview of the regional and follow me @wilmhoffKSR for updates of this weekend's action, jokes about Indiana, and more.