Where will Kentucky go in the NCAA Tournament? One last look at bracketology
Selection Sunday has arrived.
Kentucky will find out its March Madness fate during college basketball’s annual NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which is set to air on CBS and stream live on Paramount+ at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
Where will the UK men’s basketball team be headed for the first week of the NCAA Tournament?
The Cats are generally projected as a 7 seed on the major bracketology boards after accumulating a 21-13 record to this point in the season and winning two games in the early rounds of the SEC Tournament before losing to top-seeded Florida in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
The Gators, who remain in contention for a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, were upset by Vanderbilt in the SEC semifinals Saturday, and the Commodores then lost to John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks in the conference title game Sunday.
Duke, Michigan and Arizona have the other three 1 seeds locked up.
Nearly every bracketology projection that has been updated over the past 24 hours has Kentucky as a 7 seed, and the Cats’ placement that far down the seed list makes trying to figure out their most likely first round location a difficult task.
The eight cities that will host first and second round games are Buffalo, Greenville (South Carolina), Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, St. Louis and Tampa.
The four regional sites are Chicago, Houston, San Jose and Washington, D.C. The Final Four will be played in Indianapolis, with the national semifinals on April 4 and the NCAA championship game set for April 6.
UK basketball bracketology outlook
Here’s a look at where some prominent bracketology websites have the Cats going in the NCAA Tournament.
- ESPN’s Joe Lunardi changed his prediction for Kentucky on Sunday, sending the Cats to St. Louis for a first round matchup with 10-seeded NC State, which is now led by former LSU coach Will Wade. That bracket has Kentucky playing in the San Jose regional and matches up Mark Pope’s team with 2-seeded Purdue in a potential second round game. The St. Louis games will be played on Friday and Sunday, and that’s the closest geographical site to Lexington among the opening round possibilities.
- The latest bracketology board from CBS Sports has Kentucky as the 7 seed in the San Jose regional — where Arizona will be the top seed — playing 10-seeded UCF in round one. The most likely second round opponent there would be 2-seeded Michigan State, which defeated the Cats 83-66 in the Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden back on Nov. 18. That projection does not assign sites for the first week of the tournament.
- The USA Today bracket update Sunday morning had Kentucky as the 7 seed in the San Jose regional and playing against Virginia Commonwealth in the first round, with 2-seeded Illinois as the most likely opponent for the second round. Those games are projected for St. Louis. Kentucky and Illinois also played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, with the Cats coming out on top to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019.
- The Athletic’s latest bracket has 7-seeded Kentucky vs. 10-seeded Santa Clara in Philadelphia, where a potential second round matchup against 2-seeded UConn would await the Cats in round two. Coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies were projected as a 1 seed not too long ago, but they were upset by Marquette in the regular season finale and lost to St. John’s by 20 points in the Big East title game Saturday.
- The new bracket at Sports Illustrated also projects Kentucky as a 7 seed, with the Cats playing 10-seeded NC State in the first round as part of the Chicago regional. (The SI bracket does not include sites for the opening week.) The 2 seed and potential second round opponent in that bracket would be Houston, which lost to Arizona in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.
- Longtime bracketologist Dave Ommen, founder of the Bracketville website, has had Kentucky as a 6 seed recently, but he moved them down a line in his most recent update. Ommen now slots UK as the No. 25 overall team on his list, making them the top 7 seed in the field. He has Kentucky playing 10-seeded Santa Clara in St. Louis in the first round, with 2-seeded Iowa State the most likely opponent for round two. That bracket has the Cats in the Chicago regional, where Michigan is expected to be the 1 seed.
- The latest update from On3.com puts Kentucky as the 7 seed in the Washington, D.C. regional, with a game against 10-seeded UCF in the first round in St. Louis. The 2 seed in that pod would be Purdue, which lost to Kentucky in the exhibition season opener in Rupp Arena in October.
This story was originally published March 15, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
