Kentucky remains in RPI top-40 after SEC Tournament loss

Kentucky’s stay at the SEC Tournament was a short one. Now comes a long wait before Selection Monday rolls around. Will the Bat Cats receive a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid? Only time will tell but the metrics continue to say that this team should be in the field of 64.

After all of the results rolled in on Tuesday, Kentucky checked in at No. 36 overall in RPI.

Kentucky (31-21) now owns a 6-6 Quad 1 record after the Arkansas series slipped to Quad 2. The Hogs likely jump back into the top 25 with a win over Tennessee in Hoover on Wednesday night. The Wildcats are 5-7 in Quad 2 with a series win over Tennessee but series losses to Arkansas and LSU. UK also has five Quad 3 losses and three Quad 4 losses. Missouri could be a win against Mississippi State on Wednesday away from becoming a Quad 3 series.

There are still a lot of moving parts with some data points to be added. Kentucky’s non-conference RPI (No. 14) remains very strong and should not change much. That means the Bat Cats will have a solid overall RPI number on Selection Monday. Add that in with five wins over top-10 RPI teams and UK has a clear case for an at-large bid.

What about the other teams on the bubble with Kentucky? Vanderbilt is one to watch closely over the next two days. The Commodores now have 15 SEC wins but their RPI ranking (No. 71) remains very low. NC State dropped a Quad 3 game to Duke at the ACC Tournament. Purdue lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament that hurt the resume. Michigan knocked off Rutgers in a Quad 3 game. The Wolverines are a team to watch. Texas State is in action on Wednesday.

Kentucky is very much in the bubble zone.