Latest NCAA Tournament projections for Kentucky basketball ahead of its game at Florida

A week after being projected to miss the the NCAA Tournament entirely, Kentucky's resume — and reality — is very different.

The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5 SEC) entered last week with just one Quad 1 win. As John Calipari's team heads to Gainesville, Florida, to face the Gators on Wednesday night, it is now 4-7 in Quad 1 games — the contests that are the most crucial factor in determining a team's NCAA worthiness.

After going 2-0 last week — both victories qualifying as Quad 1 triumphs — along with some help elsewhere, UK is now as high as a No. 9 seed in some of the latest projections.

In addition to last week's victories at Mississippi State and against then-No. 10 Tennessee at Rupp Arena, Kentucky's 14-point win over Texas A&M at home on Jan. 21 now qualifies as a Quad 1 win. The Aggies are up to 27th in the NET rankings. (For a home win to count as a Quad 1 victory, the opponent must be among the top 30 in the NET rankings.)

Bracketologists.com, which seeds its projected bracket solely on NET rankings, has Kentucky as a No. 9 seed now. Bracketmatrix.com projects the Wildcats' average seed as 9.41, appearing in all 104 brackets. BracketWAG.com, which updated its bracket Monday night, predicts UK will be a No. 10 seed and take on No. 7 seed Iowa in a first-round matchup in the South Regional.

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NCAA Tournament projections for Kentucky from ESPN

Joe Lunardi, ESPN's resident bracketologist, released his latest full field projections on Tuesday. He now has UK as an 8-seed, facing 9-seed Pittsburgh in the first round of the East Regional.

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Kentucky NCAA Tournament projections from CBS Sports

CBS Sports' Jerry Palm, who heads up bracket projections for the website, wrote in his bracketology update Monday afternoon that UK shouldn't have to worry — for the time being — about a First Four game or missing the tournament.

In his projection of the 68-team field, released Monday afternoon, Palm has a ninth-seeded UK squad squaring off with an Iowa team seeded 8th.

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The Athletic's NCAA Tournament projections for UK basketball

In The Athletic's newest "Bubble Watch" article, which published Tuesday, Kentucky is still a team with "Work to do" to ensure its spot in the tournament. But Eamonn Brennan believes the Wildcats are trending in the right direction.

"They were on the cut line this time last week; they still need to finish the job," he wrote. "But things are looking way, way up."

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What's next for the Kentucky Wildcats?

Kentucky has one, potentially two, chances at Quad 1 wins in the coming week. It starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday with the game at Florida, a team UK beat by five points earlier this month in Lexington. The Gators' NET ranking, as of Monday afternoon, is 53. That puts UF well inside the top 75 — which is what's required for it to be designated as a Quad 1 game for Kentucky on the road.

The Wildcats return to Rupp Arena on Saturday, when Auburn comes to town. The Tigers are 30th in the NET rankings. If Auburn falls out of the top 30, it will be a Quad 2 game on Kentucky's resume.

UK has capitalized on its two most recent Quad 1 opportunities. Go 2 for 2 this week and the Wildcats likely will have ensured their only drama come Selection Sunday is where they're seeded.

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