Kentucky has some big wins this season in conference play, yet it equally has some bad losses. While the loss to Texas over the weekend isn’t horrible, it’s the latest in a string of losses that dropped the Wildcats to 6-6 in SEC conference play with the conference tournament on the horizon.
After Kentucky picked up three ranked wins in its first four conference games of the season, they’ve sputtered since. Aside from sweeping Tennessee and beating South Carolina, the Wildcats are just 3-5 since starting 3-1 in SEC play.
As a result, they’ve plummeted in the rankings. Following a five-point loss to Alabama, the Wildcats dropped from No. 8 to No. 9. Now they’re on the verge of falling out of the top 20. Their schedule doesn’t get much easier as they look to regain some momentum heading into the SEC tournament and NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky falls to No. 17 after loss to Texas
The Wildcats are down to No. 17 after their third loss in the past five games. It was another game where Kentucky’s offense went stale. Every loss — save for two of them this year — the Wildcats scored fewer than 80 points.
It’s alarming because the Wildcats are the No. 3 scoring team in college basketball, only trailing Gonzaga and Alabama. The good thing for them is their NET ranking wasn’t affected by the loss. The loss to Texas was considered a Quad 1 loss, and while it’s a frustrating loss to an NCAA Tournament bubble team, their schedule favors them to make a late season run and make up for the latest collapse.
That said, it won’t be easy. Of their remaining games left, all are considered Quad 1 games except for two — and two of their opponents include Auburn and Alabama, the conference’s top two teams.
The good thing for Kentucky is that all of their losses except for one are Quad 1 losses. That means they’ll get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to rankings and even seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
But they can’t afford to continue to spiral in conference play. The six remaining games should be about gaining ground in conference play. Auburn and Alabama are most likely favored to win the whole thing and end up with No. 1 seeds.
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, which was updated as of Friday, the Wildcats are predicted to be a No. 3 seed. Saturday’s road loss to Texas probably doesn’t change that much. It also means, though, they can make some strong statements with big wins to end the season.