UK women’s basketball almost never misses postseason. Is there still hope for this year?

Kentucky women’s basketball is a fixture in the postseason.

The Wildcats have played in 11 of the past 12 NCAA Tournaments. They’ve participated in the NCAA Tournament or WNIT 16 out of the last 17 postseasons.

This year’s roster, restocked by Coach Kyra Elzy with 10 newcomers after Kentucky won its first Southeastern Conference Tournament championship in 40 years in 2021-22, faces an uphill climb to extend that run of success.

Kentucky is 10-14 overall and 2-10 in the SEC entering Thursday night’s home game vs. Georgia. With only four regular-season games remaining, the Cats are staring down the program’s first losing season and first missed postseason opportunity since one of Coach Matthew Mitchell’s final UK teams finished 15-17 (6-10 SEC) in 2017-18. Before that season, you have to go back to 2003-04, UK’s first year under Mickie DeMoss, to find a below-.500 record (11-17, 3-11).

The Wildcats would need to win out in order to break even in the regular season. Kentucky hosts Georgia (Thursday night), then visits Vanderbilt (Sunday) and Texas A&M (Feb. 23) before hosting Tennessee for Senior Day on Feb. 26.

None of those four teams is ranked in the most recent Associated Press Top 25, and three of them reside with Kentucky in the bottom half of the league standings, but in the gauntlet that is SEC women’s basketball, nothing is promised.

Kentucky’s program has undergone tremendous change in the last year. Following the loss of generational talent Rhyne Howard to the WNBA and regular rotation players Dre’una Edwards, Treasure Hunt and Jazmine Massengill to the transfer portal, Elzy and her coaching staff were tasked with almost entirely rebuilding their roster and finding a way to get the new pieces to gel.

Nobody expected it would be an easy feat. But the results have been disappointing, even for the most optimistic of UK fans.

So, what does a possible postseason look like for the Wildcats in 2022-23?

Since the event’s inception in 1982, UK has made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and would have qualified for an 18th had the tourney not been canceled because of the pandemic in 2019-20.

According to ESPN analyst Charlie Creme, eight SEC teams are currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament this year — Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Any hope for Kentucky to reach the NCAA Tournament almost certainly lies solely in its ability to repeat as SEC Tournament champion and, after Monday night’s underwhelming loss at Ole Miss, that feat has never felt more unlikely.

UK has won the conference tournament — and its accompanying automatic bid into the NCAA field — twice in program history, in 1982 and 2022.

And, though anything is possible, Big Blue Nation should probably look forward to the WNIT.

Since 1998, the Women’s National Invitation Tournament has provided teams with an opportunity to continue their seasons and gain postseason experience, despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

The highest-finishing teams in each conference that aren’t selected for the NCAA Tournament are granted automatic berths. And, similarly to March Madness, at-large berths are granted based on factors such as NET ranking, strength of schedule and record against top teams, among others.

The 64-team WNIT professes a goal of selecting only teams with regular season records of .500 or better but has filled out its fields with losing teams at times. Vanderbilt ended the regular season 13-17 last year, received an invitation to the WNIT and advanced to the round of 16.

Not only does the WNIT grant chances to continue to build, but success in the tournament can also bode well for the future of programs. In the past decade alone, WNIT champions include UCLA (2015), Michigan (2017), Indiana (2018) and Arizona (2019).

Kentucky, a team with six freshmen, a sophomore and four juniors, could view the WNIT as a chance to gain footing for seasons ahead.

The WNIT bracket will be announced on Monday, March 13, the day after NCAA Selection Sunday.

Thursday

Georgia at Kentucky

When: 7 p.m.

TV: SEC Network Plus (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Georgia 17-9 (6-6 SEC), Kentucky 10-14 (2-10)

Series: Georgia leads 39-22

Last meeting: Georgia won 64-60 on Jan. 5, 2023, in Athens, Ga.