We are still a bit away from the tipoff of the 2026-27 college basketball season. Still, whether we’re in the midst of a season being played or the season ended yesterday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi will always have some bracketology for us college basketball fans.
Big Blue Nation may not be too fond of the placement of its Kentucky Wildcats, with hopes of being much higher. Lunardi placed the Wildcats as a 5-seed in the East region, facing off against the winner of the 12-seed play-in game between Xavier and Oklahoma State.
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Lunardi knew what he was doing with this region with the list of teams, including Kentucky. If Kentucky were to win its first game, its presumed round-of-32 opponent would be a familiar one: The Arkansas Razorbacks.
Also within the East region are 1-seed Duke, 8-seed Indiana, 3-seed UConn, 2-seed Michigan State, 11-seed Cincinnati, and others.
Obviously, a 5-seed would be a bit disappointing given the expectations at Kentucky. A 5-seed would have Kentucky in an interesting spot heading into the postseason of Year 3 for Mark Pope. In a year where you go into it on a warm seat, Pope would need a run through that bracket to make BBN happy in the end.
Below, you can check out Lunardi’s projection.
