Bracketology: Kentucky basketball’s easiest path to the Final Four
By Drew Koch
Getting a signature win
The Cats must have a signature win. I know what you’re thinking, the comeback over West Virginia was their signature win. Believe it or not, as good as that win was, from an analytics perspective, the rout against Louisville has been Kentucky’s best win this season. The Cardinals rank 19th in the RPI and represent the Wildcats’ best win of the season.
The Kentucky basketball team is 1-2 versus the RPI Top 25 and 3-3 versus the RPI Top 50. With the Wildcats’ remaining schedule, no team except the Ole Miss Rebels are outside the RPI Top 50. That schedule alone gives the Cats a lot of ways to beef up their schedule. But, if Kentucky really wants to put together a solid resume`, they need to beat Auburn on the road.
Bruce Pearl has his Tigers rolling right now. At one point this season, Auburn won 14 consecutive games. The only hiccup for the Tigers was on the road against their in-state rival Alabama in mid-January.
The Tigers currently rank 6th in RPI. If this group of young Wildcats can roll into Auburn on Valentine’s Day and come out victorious, that would be the signature win that they need moving toward March. Auburn is undefeated at home this season and will be the toughest challenge of the year for Kentucky.