Can a team that lost at home to Gardner-Webb make the NCAA Tournament? What about a team that went 6–7 in the non-conference portion of its schedule? What about a team that lost a league game by 41 points?

Well, if that team is Kentucky, and a few things fall the right way over the next few weeks, the answer is yes. As crazy as it might seem, the Wildcats, left for dead several times this season, have an opportunity to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. Let’s examine the numbers: the Cats are 15–10 overall with a 9–3 record in the SEC and an RPI of 65. They are 2–4 against the RPI top 25, 3–5 against the top 50 and 3–8 against the top 100. This is far from a great profile, but keep in mind that the NCAA Tournament bubble is incredibly soft.

“It’s a weak field this year,” says Jerry Palm, who runs the web site collegerpi.com. “I have teams seeded as high as nine that last year might not have gotten a strong look.”

On his web site, Palm has a feature called Projected RPI, which calculates a team’s RPI at the end of the regular season assuming that it beats all of the teams ranked below it and loses to the teams ranked ahead of it. Kentucky’s projected RPI heading into the SEC Tournament is 48, with an overall mark of 18–11 and an SEC record of 12–4. That, according to Palm, would likely be enough. 

“At 12-4, I doubt they would get left out,” he says.

Kentucky’s biggest problem, other than its troubling early season losses, is its lack of quality wins on the road. The Cats do have three SEC road wins, but the victims were Auburn (RPI 128), Georgia (133) and LSU (176).

“Kentucky is a homecourt hero,” Palm says. “They have done nothing away from home. Maybe that will be enough. It is better to have good wins at home than no good wins at all. Some teams don’t have any good wins.”

Kentucky will have an opportunity to make a major statement this Sunday afternoon when it visits top-ranked Tennessee. A victory in Knoxville will give the Cats a quality win that no other bubble team except Maryland (which won at North Carolina) can match. But even if the Cats don’t beat Tennessee, there are still several scenarios in which they can play their way into the field. And that’s all that Billy Gillispie and his club could possibly ask for considering the roller coaster ride Kentucky has endured this season.

Player of the Week

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt — The Commodores only played one game last week, and Foster delivered with an SEC season-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. The senior swingman hit 11-of-18 from the field (including 8-of-9 from inside the arc) and all four of his free throw attempts to lead Vanderbilt past Georgia 86–74.

Freshman of the Week

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky — It was another great week for the frontrunner for SEC Freshman of the Year honors. Patterson averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as the Wildcats picked up two more wins, beating Georgia and Arkansas in Lexington. He scored 20 points and grabbed nine boards against Georgia and then recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win vs. the Hogs.

Rising

Tennessee — The Vols ascended to the top spot in both major polls for the first time in school history after knocking off previously unbeaten Memphis 66–62 in Memphis. Earlier in the week, Tennessee dominated Auburn 89–70 to improve to 11–1 in league play.

Falling

Georgia — The Bulldogs have been battling, but the wins have been hard to come by for Dennis Felton’s club. Georgia lost at Kentucky and at Vanderbilt last week to drop to 3–9 in the SEC. They are all alone in last place, one game behind South Carolina.

Stats of the Week

• Vanderbilt hit 16 of its first 20 field goal attempts of the second half in an 86–74 win over Georgia Saturday afternoon. The Commodores did not get a single point from the bench in the game.

• Tennessee (5–1) and Mississippi State (4–2) are the only two teams in the league with a winning record on the road.

• Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines has scored 20 points or more in five of his past six games.

• Sonny Weems scored 26 points in Arkansas’ 63–58 loss at Kentucky. No other Razorback scored more than eight points.

• Ole Miss did not have a single player in double figures in its 69–49 loss at LSU.

• Ole Miss is now 1–5 against the other five teams with losing records in SEC games.

• South Carolina has lost three SEC games by three points or less and another one in overtime.

• Devan Downey currently leads the SEC in scoring (league games only) with a 21.0-point average. If he holds onto his 0.7-point lead over LSU’s Marcus Thornton, he will be the second straight South Carolina point guard to lead the league in scoring in SEC games. Last year, Tre’ Kelley was the top scorer at 21.3 points per game.

• Florida freshman Nick Calathes leads the league with 80 assists in 12 SEC games. That’s 21 more than the No. 2 man, Mississippi State’s Jamont Gordon.

• Vanderbilt point guard Jermaine Beal has only committed 15 turnovers in 12 league games.

SEC Power Rankings

1. Tennessee
2. Mississippi State
3. Vanderbilt
4. Kentucky
5. Arkansas
6. Florida
7. South Carolina
8. Auburn
9. Ole Miss
10. Alabama
11. LSU
12. Georgia

They said it:

“I guess I’m dumb. I should have started him the whole year — 28 points was awfully good today. We needed them all. I hadn’t been pleased with the inconsistent play of DeWayne Reed, so I decided to bring Reed off the bench and just start Lucas this game.” — Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, after giving Lucas Hargrove only his second start of the season. Hargrove responded by scoring 28 points in the Tigers’ 88–76 win over rival Alabama.

“I wanted to make sure our guys knew we were playing for something. I don’t know if we’re the best team in the country. I knew we were 40 minutes away from being No. 1.” — Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, on his pregame message to his team before the No. 2 vs. No. 1 showdown with Memphis.

“I don’t know who those guys are. I hope I don’t see them anymore. From Wednesday night to Saturday — it’s like the invasion of the bodysnatchers.” — Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, after his team’s 69–49 loss at LSU. The Rebels had beaten SEC West leader Mississippi State the previous Wednesday.

On Tap

Tuesday, Feb. 26
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
The Vols take the court as the No. 1 team for the first time in school history. Vanderbilt, which hasn’t lost in the month of February, is seeking a marquee win to boost its profile.

Wednesday, Feb. 27
Arkansas at Alabama
The Hogs are in pretty good shape, but a road win would impress the selection committee.

Ole Miss at Kentucky
The Wildcats have to sweep their home games and steal a win at South Carolina — assuming they don’t beat Tennessee in Knoxville. We’ll see how much fight Ole Miss has left after dropping to 4–8 with a blowout loss at LSU.

Saturday, March 1
Vanderbilt at Arkansas
Beating Vanderbilt (RPI 10) would give the Hogs a quality win. The Commodores haven’t won in Fayetteville since 1996.

Mississippi State at Florida
The Gators need to find a way to get to 10 wins in conference play. With Tennessee still on the docket, every other game is crucial.

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