Kentucky men’s basketball received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament on selection Sunday, officially beginning the quest for “number nine.”
The Cats’ seed-line was in question after a disappointing SEC Tournament exit that had fans questioning if UK would be a No. 3 or No. 4, but the selection committee proved merciful.
Being sent to Pittsburgh in the South Region, Kentucky will face off with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, the automatic bid winner out of the Horizon League, before facing either ACC Tournament Champion NC State or Texas Tech in the second round.
The South Region is headlined by its one seed — the Houston Cougars — who are unlikely to become the third No. 1 seed to fall victim to a No. 16 seed and should handily beat Longwood.
Closer to home, Kentucky will hope to escape its half of the region that is also bolstered by No. 2 Marquette, which finished runner-up to the Big East title after losing to reigning national champions and No. 1 overall seeded UConn, and the red-hot Florida Gators, who also finished runner-up to the SEC title.
If those schools aren’t threatening enough, teams such as Colorado and Boise State — along with the winners of Conference USA Western Kentucky — will hope to stop the Cats from reaching the Elite Eight.
On the other half of the region, with Houston, several top contenders will seek to earn their way to the Final Four, including Texas A&M, which is 2-0 against the Wildcats this season and ended their SEC Tournament run, Big Ten runner-up Wisconsin, the Duke Blue Devils and a wildcard Nebraska team.
It’s unlikely Kentucky runs the risk of facing American East winners Vermont or Sun Belt champion James Madison, but the two schools round out the 16-team region that features 17 schools due to the Buffaloes of Colorado and the Broncos of Boise State being sent to Dayton for the First Four.
All in all, Kentucky has faced two of its region mates — Texas A&M and Florida — and has gone a combined 1-3, with the lone win coming in Gainesville on January 6.
In terms of common opponents, Houston and Texas Tech both come from the Big 12, which is also the home of Kansas, which beat the Cats in Chicago early in the season. Houston finished 1-1 against the Jayhawks — who themselves earned a No. 4 seed in the Midwest — while the Red Raiders finished 1-0.
Duke and NC State hail from the ACC, a conference that Kentucky is 3-0 against this season with a blowout win over Miami, a close battle over North Carolina — which earned a No. 1 seed — and a win over Louisville. The Blue Devils finished 3-0 over Miami and Louisville, but were swept by North Carolina. NC State also finished 3-0 over Louisville and Miami but finished 1-2 against UNC.
Against the conferences of all other opponents, Kentucky is 2-0, beating Marshall out of the Sun Belt — the home conference of James Madison — and New Mexico State out of Conference USA — the home conference of Western Kentucky.
Looking at the tournament more broadly, Kentucky is 7-7 against 10 NCAA Tournament teams, standing undefeated against Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State and North Carolina, but standing winless against Texas A&M, Gonzaga, Kansas and South Carolina.
The action is set to begin in the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday, March 19 — and the first round beginning on Thursday — and Kentucky has high stakes this dance with fans frustrated at head coach John Calipari and the failures of the squad to advance.
With such a young team, March will be full of question marks, but one simple fact remains: now, more than ever, it’s survive and advance or lose and go home.
