Bracketology: Kentucky basketball’s easiest path to the Final Four
By Drew Koch
What does the best path to the Final Four look like?
The Kentucky basketball team does not have an easy path before the NCAA Tournament starts. With 8 of their remaining 9 games against RPI Top 50 opponents and an all-freshmen starting lineup, the deck is stacked the Cats. To help UK on their quest for an 18th trip to the Final Four, they’ll need a lot of support from Big Blue Nation.
BBN always travels well. The Big Blue Mist, as Coach Cal calls it, will follow their beloved Cats to the west coast if necessary. But, it won’t be necessary if the Wildcats can keep winning. Nashville is hosting the first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament. A 3-hour drive south down I-65 is no problem for Kentucky fans.
The South Regional of the NCAA Tournament will be held in Cat-lanta, excuse me, Atlanta this year. That’s right, Kentucky basketball’s home away from home will be hosting the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight match ups of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
A path from Nashville to Atlanta to San Antonio sounds pretty sweet. But, in order to achieve that, a lot has to go right for the Wildcats. A No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament is virtually a must to secure those games in Atlanta. With teams like Duke, Virginia, Auburn, Clemson and Cincinnati vying for that spot as well, UK has their work cut out for them.
Can this Kentucky basketball team figure it out? Big Blue Nation knows that John Calipari has a tough road ahead. But, that road can be a lot less bumpy if the Cats improve their standing with the NCAA Tournament committee. Getting that signature, avoiding a bad loss and securing favorable sites in March will go a long way in easing UK’s burden.