Kentucky’s 91-83 victory over Missouri in Columbia has significantly altered the Wildcats’ path heading into the SEC Tournament. This crucial win not only capped off the regular season but also solidified Kentucky’s positioning in the conference tournament and strengthened their chances of making a run in March Madness.
With the win, the Wildcats avoid the dreaded No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament, which would have meant a tough matchup against the winner of No. 9 seed Arkansas and No. 16 seed South Carolina, followed by a potential meeting with the formidable No. 1 seed Auburn. Instead, Kentucky now has the opportunity to secure one of the top seeds — No. 5, No. 6, or No. 7 — based on the results of two key games later today: No. 22 Texas A&M at LSU and Ole Miss at No. 5 Florida.
The most unlikely yet intriguing scenario for Kentucky is landing the No. 5 seed. For this to happen, Florida would need to defeat Ole Miss (a result that seems probable) and LSU would have to pull off an upset over Texas A&M. If both of these results occur, Kentucky would enter a four-way tie for the No. 5 spot with Missouri, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. Thanks to a solid performance in pool play and a head-to-head victory over Texas A&M, Kentucky would claim the tiebreaker and secure the No. 5 seed. This would set them up for a matchup against the winner of No. 13 Texas and No. 12 Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon.
However, the No. 6 seed is the most realistic outcome for Kentucky. Two different paths could lead to this outcome. The simpler one involves Texas A&M defeating LSU and Florida beating Ole Miss. This would create a three-way tie between Kentucky, Missouri, and Ole Miss, with Kentucky emerging as the winner of the tie due to its earlier win over Florida. The Wildcats would then face the winner of the No. 14 seed (Oklahoma) vs. No. 11 seed (Georgia) game on Thursday night.
The other path to the No. 6 seed would require LSU to defeat Texas A&M and Ole Miss to beat Florida. In this case, Kentucky would again secure the No. 6 spot and face either Oklahoma or Georgia.
In the least favorable scenario, Kentucky would drop to the No. 7 seed. This would occur if Texas A&M defeats LSU and Ole Miss beats Florida. As the No. 7 seed, Kentucky would play the winner of the No. 15 seed LSU and No. 10 seed Mississippi State.
As the SEC Tournament unfolds, the Wildcats’ seeding will play a key role in their quest for an NCAA Tournament berth. Kentucky’s win over Missouri has certainly made the path clearer, but there is still a lot at stake. The next few days will be pivotal as the Cats prepare for the tournament in Nashville, where their March Madness dreams hang in the balance.
