Kentucky earns No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament
Kentucky Wildcats guard Davion Mintz (10) tries to calm down his team during the UK vs. Tennessee SEC Tournament semifinal mens basketball game on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. UK lost 69-62. Photo by Michael Clubb | Staff
March 13, 2022
For the first time in three years, the Wildcats are going dancing, this time with a No. 2 next to their name.
Kentucky will head to Indianapolis in the East Region to take on the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks in the Round of 64 on Thursday, March 17.
Kentucky will enter the tournament with a 27-2 (14-4 Southeastern Conference) record after falling to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Semifinals. The bid is the 59th in program history, and the first since 2019.
In what was an up and down season, the Wildcats dealt with everything from COVID-19 cancellations to injuries en route to March.
After falling to Duke in the season opener at the Champions Classic, UK rattled off seven wins over mid-major opponents.
In the first road game of the year, the Cats fell in lackluster fashion to Notre Dame in South Bend. As it turns out, finding wins on the road was a season-long challenge for 13th-year head coach John Calipari.
After thumping North Carolina in Las Vegas, UK took down Western Kentucky and High Point before they swung into SEC play.
Loss three on the season came in Baton Rouge, as Kentucky failed to overcome LSU without Sahvir Wheeler.
The Cats then piled on four straight SEC wins, including a mashing of Tennessee inside Rupp Arena and a hard-fought road win at Texas A&M.
Yet again, the next time UK felt defeat was on the road, this time in Auburn.
Kentucky made a statement in late January, traveling west to Lawrence, Kansas, throttling the Jayhawks by 18 points inside Phog Allen Fieldhouse.
That was win two of a six-game undefeated stretch by the Cats, propelling them towards the top of the conference.
The final two SEC losses of the regular season both, once again, came on the road, as Tennessee got revenge in Knoxville before Arkansas took home a win in Fayetteville.
UK defeated Ole Miss and Florida to close out the regular season, earning the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament.
After beating Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals, Tennessee won the rubber match over the Cats in less than exciting fashion in the semifinals, leading the Wildcats to Indy.
If Kentucky can defeat Saint Peter’s, they will take on the winner of Murray State and San Fransisco in the Round of 32 on Saturday, March 19.
