Is Joe Lunardi too low on the Kentucky Wildcats in his recent Bracketology update?

Mark Pope is getting ready for year one as the head coach of the Kentucky basketball program, and he has a team that can make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Pope’s team has a lot of veteran players that have them built for a run in March.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN just updated his Bracketology and has the Wildcats as a six seed in the East Region. The Wildcats, in this draw, would play the winner of Villanova and Pittsburgh, who would be playing for the 11 seed, in the first round of the tournament. This game would be played in Milwaukee if the Wildcats were to receive this draw. If Kentucky won their Round of 64 matchup, they would play the winner of Baylor and Louisiana Tech in the Round of 32.

What stood out about this draw for the Wildcats was their #2 seed being, UConn, which is a draw no team wants. The Huskies have won back-to-back National Championships, and Dan Hurley has the team necessary to pull off the three-peat.

In the most recent Bracketology update from Lunardi, there are ten SEC teams in the field, which has the SEC tied with the Big Ten tied for the most teams in the tournament.

Coach Pope’s team has the upside to be a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament, but knowing how much of a gauntlet SEC play will be this season, a six seed could end up being where the Wildcats end up in year one of the new regime.