Where Kentucky MBB stands in latest Bracketology following Purdue win

by: Zack Geoghegan4 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky coach Mark Pope - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio/On3

With a week until the 2025-26 season-opener, Kentucky men’s basketball is expected to be among the teams battling for a one-seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his Men’s Bracketology on Tuesday morning for the final time of the preseason. In it, he tabbed the Wildcats as a two-seed in the West (San Jose) Region with a first-round matchup against 15-seed Little Rock. Houston is the projected number one overall seed in the tournament, while St. John’s checked in as a 2-seed and Louisville as a 3-seed.

Lunardi had Kentucky holding onto a three-seed throughout most of the offseason, but bumped the ‘Cats up to the two-line earlier this month. After UK took down top-ranked Purdue in an exhibition last Friday, 78-65, he kept them in that same spot. The Boilermakers also held firm as one of the top seeds.

In Lunardi’s projections, Kentucky would begin the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, SC. A win over Little Rock would push the ‘Cats to a Round of 32 matchup against the winner of seven-seed San Diego State and 10-seed Iowa. A potential showdown with BYU, the team Mark Pope coached for before coming to UK, is on the table for the Sweet 16.

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UK is among 11 teams from the Southeastern Conference in Lunardi’s latest update, which is tied with the Big Ten for the most of any league. Other SEC teams, such as Oklahoma (First Four Out), Texas A&M (First Four Out), and Georgia (Next Four Out), are right on the verge of being in the field.

1-seed: Florida
2-seed: Kentucky
3-seed: Tennessee
4-seed: Alabama
5-seed: Arkansas
6-seed: Auburn
8-seed: Missouri
8-seed: Texas
9-seed: Ole Miss
9-seed: Vanderbilt
10-seed: Mississippi State

Weekly Bracketology updates from ESPN will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Kentucky will play one more exhibition when Georgetown comes to Lexington on Thursday (7:00 p.m. ET | SEC Network+). The Wildcats’ season-opener is set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7:00 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+ against Nicholls.

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