The Kentucky basketball team has the ability to make a Final Four run

The Kentucky basketball team drew the No. 5 seed in the South Region. It’s definitely not a cakewalk, but the Wildcats have the ability to make a Final Four run.

The Kentucky basketball team has a difficult, yet not insurmountable route to San Antonio. The Wildcats drew the No. 5 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cats play Davidson in the first round, and then get the winner of No. 4 Arizona versus No. 13 Buffalo if they’re able to knock off Steph Curry’s alma mater.

Head coach John Calipari has already made his displeasure of the draw known. The prospect of playing on Thursday after playing in the SEC Tournament on Sunday does not sit well with Coach Cal. Neither does the aspect of heading west to Boise, Idaho. Even though Big Blue Nation will travel, that’s a long haul for these kids who just finished the SEC Championship game on Sunday afternoon.

I’m not a big fan of predicting future games. I’ve always been a fan of “control what you can control”. That being said, that’s no fun, so let’s play it out. If the seeds hold, the Kentucky basketball team would play Davidson, Arizona, Virginia and Cincinnati.

Davidson, by virtue of winning the Atlantic-10 Tournament, got the No. 12 seed in the region. Davidson had 11 losses on the season and are ranked 47th in the RPI. The Arizona Wildcats possess the likely John Wooden Player of the Year in Deandre Ayton. At No. 68, Arizona’s strength of schedule is not that impressive.

If the seeds hold and UK advances to the Sweet Sixteen, the Cats would play the No.1 overall seed, the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia has only 2 losses on the season, however, both of those losses are to teams this year’s Kentucky basketball team beat (West Virginia and Virginia Tech).

Finally, if Kentucky advances to the South Regional Final, and the higher seeds advance, UK would play Cincinnati. While Mick Cronin’s team has had a great season, their .500 record against RPI Top 25 opponents gives me cause to pause. If the No. 3 seed Tennessee Volunteers advance to regional final to play the Cats, we’ve already seen that UK can beat the Vols.

So, while it’s not an easy path to the Final Four, it is doable. Kentucky is going to have to share the ball, knock down open shots and play the same hard-nose defense they did throughout the SEC Tournament. Don’t count these Cats out yet.