The Cats are moving on up!
The Kentucky Wildcats have jumped to a No. 3 seed in ESPN’s newest bracket release by Joe Lunardi, one of the most notable college hoops analysts.
The Cats beat the then-No. 6 Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday, November 12, in the Champions Classic, and that win jolted them forward in most major rankings. Following the neutral-court win, they are firmly a top-10 team.
As for Lunardi, he is taking in the Kentucky love as well.
Lunardi has the Cats with Kansas and Purdue in the Midwest Region, which will be in Indianapolis. The Jayhawks have a marquee win over North Carolina this season, while Purdue handed Alabama its first loss of the season.
Both would present unique challenges to Kentucky, and with so much of the season remaining, these rankings are bound to be adjusted weekly until March. Creighton, Texas A&M, Xavier and Illinois are in the Cats region as well.
In their first-round matchup of this bracket, the Cats would take on the Vermont Catamounts, who sit 1-3 and are out of the American East conference.
The Cats are 3-0 and have several non-conference foes in their immediate future. They won’t face a ranked opponent till they battle the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who look like one of the best, if not the, teams in the country on December 7th.
That said, Mark Pope is killing it, so the expectations in Lexington continue to climb!