LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Have you seen the latest Bracket Matrix, the one posted earlier this week?
Proceed directly past the No. 1 and 2 seeds and focus on the next five teams.
Commence fussing.
Sometimes you have to stretch to find a Louisville vs. Kentucky angle in the college basketball world. BracketMatrix makes it simple.
Listed as the 12th overall seed and the final No. 3 seed is Chris Mack’s University of Louisville squad.
One spot below, as the first No. 4 seed and the 13th overall team, is John Calipari’s Kentucky squad.
With these two programs, it’s always something.
A disclaimer: The projection I looked at Wednesday morning was recalculated on Tuesday — before Kentucky went to College Station and defeated Texas A&M, 69-60, that night.
The Wildcats have won seven straight for the first time this season. Among Top 25 teams, only Kansas, Dayton and Brigham Young have longer winning streaks than John Calipari’s team.
Maybe the UK victory will push the Wildcats ahead of the Cardinals in BracketMatrix, which is an NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday projection based on averaging the work of 126 bracketologists.
I noticed one site had Louisville as high as a No. 2 seed and as low as a No. 5. For Kentucky, the range was 3 to 6.
The Cardinals’ overall average was 3.11, closer to the top No. 3 seed (Creighton 2.79) than Kentucky’s 3.83 average.
Which, of course, means nothing.
I do not believe BracketMatrix information will be printed and dispersed to members of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee when they gather in Indianapolis in two weeks.
Not with Louisville still facing a trip to Virginia (after hosting Virginia Tech Sunday) and the Wildcats projected to be an underdog at Florida March 7 (after they get Auburn and Tennessee in Rupp Arena).
It also means nothing because some brackets are considerably more accurate than others.
Dave Ommen of Bracketville has won the BracketMatrix competition twice in the last two seasons. Some insiders argue that his work is superior to the guys who are promoted on television. BracketMatrix ranked Bracketville tops among the bracketologists who have competed at least three seasons.
Ommen has not updated his bracket since Monday. He had Louisville playing New Mexico State as a No. 3 seed in Cleveland with a likely second-round game against a floundering Butler team. That would be a favorable draw.
For Kentucky, Ommen forecast a four-seed and an opening round game with Ivy League frontrunner Yale in Omaha.
In the second round, Bracketville had Kentucky matched in a rematch with Ohio State, which defeated the Wildcats in December in Las Vegas. The Buckeyes are without freshman point guard D.J. Carton, but after losing six of seven they have rallied to win six of their last eight.
Bracketsblog won the competition last season. The Monday update there (before Florida State dispatched Louisville) was a two-seed for the Cards and a three for the Seminoles and Wildcats.
That loss at Florida State likely eliminated any chance for Louisville to earn a No. 2 seed. Ditto for Duke after the Blue Devils melted down at Wake Forest Tuesday night. If any ACC teams gets rewarded with a No. 2 seed, it figures to be Leonard Hamilton and FSU.
Several weeks ago there were projections that had Louisville on the four-seed line and Kentucky as a five. That created the possibility they could play in the second round of the tournament.
No more.
Now, if they land in some combination on the No. 3 and No. 4 lines, the Cardinals and Wildcats could not play until the Elite Eight or Final Four.
Play on.
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