KENTUCKY
Kentucky cracks NCAA Tournament field (just barely) in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology update
Kentucky struggled in the first half against Georgia on Tuesday night in Lexington.
But, behind an incredible 37-point, 24-rebound effort from reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to take down the Bulldogs.
Now they’re being rewarded for that win in ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament projections. As you can see below, the Tuesday night victory propelled Kentucky to the last spot in the field:
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) January 18, 2023
Kentucky improved to 12-6 overall and 3-3 in SEC play with the win.
Lunardi now has 6 SEC teams in his field of 68. Alabama is currently a No. 1 seed, with Tennessee on the No. 2 seed line.
At this point in the season, the Cats just have to go one game at a time. Plenty of time to build a tournament resume, but they have to leave the clunkers at home. No more blowout losses, no more losing games that they shouldn’t. Easier said than done with a tough schedule ahead including TAMU, Kansas, Arky (2), a rematch w/ TN and GA, and Florida (2). Hopefully there has been some learnings with the roster and players are buying in. The talent is there, but the execution has been missing until recently. We’re just a month and a half out from the conf tourney, so it’s time to get it rolling….
Ky has to find outside shooting or their toast! We have seen what happens when Oscar has a bad night who is going to step up??? If they can find the outside shooting some how they can make a run but if not u can bet you will see losses piling up.