Bracketology roundup for the Wildcats

Despite the recent loss to the Auburn Tigers, the Kentucky Wildcats are still playing their best basketball of the season to this point.

On Saturday, the selection committee revealed the top 16 seeds at this point for the NCAA Tournament, but the Cats weren’t one of the teams in it.

I would imagine that has changed since multiple teams that were placed right above the Cats lost over the weekend.

It has definitely changed in the eyes of Joe Lunardi, as he moved the Cats from a 5 seed up to a 4 seed in his latest Bracketology.

The 1 seeds remained the same with the Baylor Bears, Kansas Jayhawks, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and San Diego State Aztecs holding their spots.

Lunardi placed the Cats in the West with Gonzaga and gave Kentucky a very favorable path to the Final Four.

If Kentucky played the highest seed throughout, here is their path to the Final Four:

Round of 64: New Mexico State

Round of 32: Colorado

Sweet 16: Gonzaga

Elite 8: Dayton

Sign us up for that bracket today. Even though the Cats would be sent out West, this is as favorable of a path to Atlanta as a 4 seed could hope for.

You can see the full updated Bracketology here.

Elsewhere, Kentucky got a somewhat favorable projection in NCAA.com’s latest Bracketology, which has the Cats as a 5 seed in the East Region San Diego State as the 1 seed. While the Aztecs are a very formidable opponent, they play a much weaker schedule and are a West Coast team making a cross-country trip to New York, so their fanbase would likely be greatly outnumbered by Kentucky fans.

This projection includes Butler as the 4 seed and Duke as the 2 seed, but the real story is Kentucky’s first opponent: A play-in game between Arizona State and Memphis, so we could that Cal vs. Penny matchup everyone wanted coming into the season.

USA Today’s projection is very similar with the exception of Villanova replacing Butler as the 4 seed and Stanford vs. Cincinnati being the play-in opponent for Kentucky.

Bleacher Report has another similar projection, only this one has Kentucky as a 5 seed playing 13-seeded Arkon in the first game, and Oregon is the 5 seed.

For fans hoping Kentucky is a little closer to home than New York or Los Angeles, you may like NBC Sports’ latest projection, which has Kentucky as a 4 seed in the Midwest Region, which takes place in Indianapolis. The Wildcats would face 13-seeded Vermont in the first game, likely followed 5-seeded Iowa in the Round of 32.

Then things get pretty difficult, as Kentucky would likely play top-seeded Kansas in the Sweet 16. Say what you want about Bill Self and the ongoing NCAA investigation into his program, but he’s got these Jayhawks playing arguably the best basketball of any team in America, and they rank No. 1 overall at KenPom. This would be a major challenge for the Wildcats just to get to the Elite Eight, where they’d likely face 2-seeded Dayton if they make it that far.

Finally, CBS Sports’ newest projection has the Cats as a 5 seed in the South Region, which takes place in Houston. The path to the Final Four here would likely consist of 4-seeded Creighton, 1-seeded Baylor, and 2-seeded Louisville.

Of all the above projections, which do you like most for the Cats? Let us know in the comments section.