Latest NCAA Tournament projections for Kentucky basketball after sweeping No. 10 Tennessee

After last week's loss to Georgia, the Kentucky men's basketball team needed wins in the worst way. Quad 1 wins, specifically.

The Wildcats entered the week with just one of those victories in the contests that are the most crucial factor in determining a team's NCAA worthiness. By Saturday evening, they had tripled that number. First was a 71-68 road triumph against Mississippi State Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum. UK followed that with a 66-54 victory over No. 10 Tennessee at Rupp Arena on Saturday.

Wednesday's win did wonders for the Wildcats' NCAA hopes, as it put them back in the field in NCAA Tournament projections.

In ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's latest update, released Saturday morning, he projected UK as one of the last four squads into the 68-team field. BracketWAG.com agreed, projecting a First Four matchup against Clemson in Dayton, Ohio prior to Saturday's game. Bracketologists.com, which seeds the tournament on NET rankings alone, has the Wildcats (No. 40 in newest ratings, up four spots from Wednesday), as a No. 10 seed, facing seventh-seeded Xavier.

Prior to its 2-0 week, the lone Quad 1 victory UK had this season was upending then-No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, in January. Kentucky could also pick up another win in that category without having to lift a finger: Texas A&M, which UK topped 76-67 at Rupp Arena on Jan. 21, is 32nd in the new NET rankings. If the Aggies move into the top 30, last month's victory will qualify as a Quad 1 win for the Wildcats.

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Even though Kentucky is now projected as an NCAA Tournament team, it still has work to do between now and Selection Sunday.

The Wildcats have failed to make the NCAA Tournament field twice under John Calipari. UK has made the tournament 10 times during Calipari's tenure. (March Madness was canceled in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The two that didn't make the field: Calipari's 2012-13 team, which lost in the first round of the NIT to Robert Morris. And UK's 2020-21 squad that finished 9-16 (8-9 SEC), one of the worst seasons in program history.

NCAA Tournament projections for Kentucky from CBS Sports

Jerry Palm, who heads up NCAA Tournament prognosticating for CBS Sports, released a new bracket just as Saturday's games got underway. He projected Kentucky having moved up an entire seed line, to No. 10, heading to the West Coast to face seventh-seeded Providence in Sacramento, California.

And that projection was before the Wildcats' toppling of a top-10 Vols squad Saturday.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.