ESPN drops Kentucky from NCAA Tournament ‘lock’ status following loss to Georgia
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Kentucky basketball is no longer a lock to make the 2026 NCAA Tournament, at least according to the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
ESPN’s Neil Paine is monitoring the bubble and the outlook of the current race for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. As it currently stands, the SEC has 5 locks: Florida, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Tennessee. Kentucky was considered a lock until last night’s loss to Georgia.
Now, Paine files Kentucky away as a “should be in” member, alongside other SEC schools such as Georgia, Auburn and Texas. That’s still a pretty good place to be, and signals that the Wildcats would need to suffer a complete disaster – we’re talking 4+ losses across their final guaranteed 6 games – to miss the Big Dance.
According to Kalshi, the Wildcats have a 98% chance to hear their named called on Selection Sunday.
It is worth noting that Kentucky’s final few weeks of the season are no walk in the park. While we’d be surprised to see Kentucky fall apart this last in the season, it’s true that the Wildcats still have to face Auburn, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Florida, plus their SEC Tournament matchup depending on how these next few weeks unfold.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
