With the time of year rolling into late February and the Super Bowl and 4 Nations Face Off over, the nation is turning its attention toward the rapidly approaching NCAA Tournament and March Madness.

While Kentucky men’s basketball still has five regular season games left on its schedule, including a tough test this weekend at No. 4 Alabama, and the SEC Tournament looming, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology series has become a must-read as more and more squads lock themselves into the NCAA Tournament.

Just in time for a huge weekend of college hoops, Lunardi released his latest bracketology this morning, Feb. 21, and, for Kentucky fans, Madness is a great way to describe the Cats’ projected landing spot.

Lunardi has Kentucky projected to be the No. 3 seed in the South Region, the top of which is expected to see projected No. 1 overall seed Auburn invade Lexington.

In the first round, Lunardi has Kentucky facing a hot mid-major in the form of projected Southern Conference champion Chattanooga.

The Mocs are currently No. 1 in the conference, a full game ahead of UNC Greensboro, and stand at 20-8 on the season. UTC has won eight straight games and has experience against power conference or NCAA Tournament teams, falling short against Indiana, St. Mary’s and USC.

Assuming Mark Pope’s squad is able to break Kentucky’s poor run of form in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and take down a squad who made the big dance as recently as 2022, the fun really begins in the Second Round.

Blocking out the possibility of VCU managing to stay in the field, win in the First Four and stun the No. 6 seed in the South, both of Kentucky’s second round options will have fans excited.

First, taking a look at the most likely option, Kentucky would square off, in Cleveland, with No. 6 Louisville, with Pat Kelsey’s squad having a chance at revenge after UK was victorious 93-85 on Dec. 14.

At the time of that game in Lexington, Louisville stood at 6-5 on the season after finishing as the runner-up to the Battle 4 Atlantis against Oklahoma. The Cardinals had lost three of their last four, falling to the Sooners, Duke and Ole Miss before having a bounce-back win over UTEP.

After losing to Kentucky, however, Kelsey’s squad overcame immense injuries to rattle off 10-straight wins, taking advantage of a down ACC and besting a struggling North Carolina squad. Perhaps most interestingly, however, the Cardinals also took down NCAA Tournament team Clemson, which bested UK in South Carolina earlier in the season.

While, yes, the Cardinals were upset by Georgia Tech, they have won four straight since then to improve to 14-1 in their last 15 games. This push has seen the Cardinals return to the AP Top 25, locking up the No. 25 spot, and firmly into the NCAA Tournament with revenge on their minds.

Now, the other likely option if the Cardinals are upset in the first round is perhaps even more enticing.

Currently projected to be a No. 11 seed in the tournament, the squad facing VCU in Dayton is slated to be none other than John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks.

The same Razorbacks, filled to the brim with former Cats and Kentucky commits, that marched into Rupp Arena on Feb. 1 and conquered UK 89-79.

Since that win, Arkansas has gone just 2-3 in a loaded SEC conference, winning at Texas, which beat Kentucky in Austin, and beating LSU while falling by single digits against Alabama, at Texas A&M (projected No. 3 seed) and at No. 1 Auburn.

The Hogs are 15-11 on the season and 4-9 in the conference, but wins over No. 12 Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia and Texas are keeping them in the field, albeit on the bubble.

While everything is subject to change, a Second Round date with either the Cardinals or the Hogs creates yet another layer of excitement for a postseason that is already highly anticipated in and around Lexington.

As a caveat, CBS’ Jerry Palm does not have the Hogs in the field at all, projecting Kentucky to face London, Kentucky’s own Ritchie Riley and the South Alabama Jaguars in the West Region before facing either Nebraska or… the Louisville Cardinals.

Regardless of that disagreement, both bracketologists have one thing in common: the SEC is a force to be reckoned with bid wise.

Lunardi has 12 SEC teams in the field with Texas earning one of the last four byes, Vanderbilt and Arkansas being in the First Four and Oklahoma and Georgia being in the “Next Four Out” category, meaning both could easily secure the wins necessary to get back into the field.

As for Palm, he has 13 SEC teams making the field with Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia clocking in the First Four and the Hogs just missing out in the “Next Four Out” category.

With so many strong games left on the schedule for everyone in the SEC, apart from South Carolina and LSU, no team in the conference is truly out of it and that is certain to make the last few weeks of the season a must watch.

Kentucky will face off with Alabama inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. ET with the game airing live on ESPN. The men’s SEC Tournament is set to kick off on Wednesday, March 12, with Selection Sunday being slated for March 16.