The Cats are going dancing, there is no doubt about that. How long they keep their dancing shoes on is very much up for debate. Things just got a lot harder with the latest Bracketology update after Kentucky dropped its third straight game to the Florida Gators.
The 7-seed nightmare
Despite Mark Pope’s belief that his team can make a deep run, the bracket is an unforgiving mistress. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi now has Kentucky as a 7-seed heading into Selection Sunday eve.
That projection places them in a first-round matchup with 10-seed Santa Clara. The Broncos play a balanced style of basketball that has traditionally given Kentucky’s perimeter defense fits.
Even if the Cats manage to navigate that successfully, waiting for them in the Round of 32 would be 2-seed Iowa State. The Cyclones are a defensive buzzsaw, giving up just 64.6 PPG (No. 5 nationally). For a Kentucky team that already struggles to hit open looks, that is the definition of a nightmare matchup.
Around the matrix
The consensus across the board isn’t much friendlier. CBS Sports and Blogging the Bracket both have the Cats as a 7-seed, with potential matchups against NC State and a brutal second-round date with either Michigan State or Illinois…