The Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Mark Pope are coming off a Sweet 16 loss to a rival Tennessee team. They will look to bounce back strong and capture the program’s ninth NCAA National Championship.
In Joe Lunardi’s way-too-early bracket prediction, Pope and his Wildcats are a projected No. 3 seed in the West Region. In the first round, the Wildcats would take on the Furman Paladins. The Wildcats took on the Paladins in the John Calipari era in December 2023 and won the game 75-45.
This region would also feature BYU, Louisville, Arkansas, and Kansas, so plenty of potential juicy storylines for Kentucky.
This would be back-to-back seasons for the Wildcats as a No. 3 seed. Pope, who is heading into his second season at the helm for the Wildcats, will look for a deeper run in March than his first season. The Wildcats, who dominated the transfer portal this offseason, will have a good chance to be a higher seed and make some real noise this year.
Despite the “way-too-early” tag, Lunardi’s early projection often shapes narratives heading into the season. For now, Kentucky finds itself under the spotlight as a potential top-tier contender— just not in the top two seed lines.