Photo by Keyli Chisesi (Go Big Blue Country)
After a 96-78 win vs. Ole Miss on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats are one step closer to a top four SEC finish and double bye in next weeks SEC Tournament in St. Louis.
There are still a number of outcomes to be decided and depending on what happens this Saturday at Florida and around the SEC, Kentucky can finish anywhere from No. 3 to No. 5 in the standings. Let’s take a look at Kentucky’s path to make things a little easier.
It’s simple, if Kentucky travels to Gainesville and defeats Florida, then they’re the No. 3 seed in the tournament, which brings with it a double bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round. If they lose, things get a little tricky and they would have to have some help to finish in the top four.
If they lose to Florida, Kentucky would need Missouri to defeat Arkansas in order to secure the No. 4 seed and the last spot for a double bye. However, if Kentucky loses and Arkansas defeats Missouri, the Wildcats will be the No. 5 seed and have to play on Thursday, which would require them to win four games to win the tournament.
Kentucky just needs to take care of business themselves and not leave it up to Missouri needing a win. The good news is if Kentucky does drop in Gainesville, Arkansas would have to win on the road at Missouri. Just win and you don’t have to worry about that outcome.
Below is the schedule via sportingnews.com
2018 SEC Tournament bracket, schedule
| First round: Wednesday, March 7 |
| No. 12 vs. No. 13, SEC Network |
| No. 11 vs. No. 14, SEC Network |
| Second round: Thursday, March 8 |
| No. 8. vs. No. 9, SEC Network |
| No. 5 vs. No. 12/13, SEC Network |
| No. 7 vs. No. 10, SEC Network |
| No. 6 vs. No. 11/14, SEC Network |
| Quarterfinals: Friday, March 9 |
| No. 1 vs. No. 8/9, ESPN |
| No. 4 vs. No. 5/12/13, ESPN |
| No. 2 vs. No. 7/10, SEC Network |
| No. 3 vs. No. 6/11/14, SEC Network |
| Semifinals: Saturday, March 10 |
| No. 1/8/9 vs. No. 4/5/12/13, ESPN |
| No. 2/7/10 vs. No. 3/6/11/14, ESPN |
| Championship: Sunday, March 11 |
| TBD, ESPN |
