ESPN Bubble Watch has moved Kentucky to “lock” status for the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have reeled off four straight wins, which was enough to take them off the bubble.
Kentucky has time to earn more wins and improve their tournament seed, so remaining games are still very important.
Here is an excerpt:
In fact, it’s time to move UK to the “lock” category here at Bubble Watch.
John Calipari’s team has recorded a four-game run that will live on in the annals of profile improvement. Coming out of a five-point loss at Georgia on Feb. 11, Kentucky was being shown as one of the first four teams outside the field by mock brackets. The Wildcats were 16-9 and 7-5 in the SEC, with a tough road game at Mississippi State coming up next.
UK won that game 71-68 on the strength of four 3s from Antonio Reeves, 11 assists by Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe’s 18 points and 11 rebounds. At the time the game at MSU took its place alongside Kentucky’s January win at Tennessee as this profile’s two high Quad 1 victories.
Since then the Wildcats have posted wins over the Volunteers, Florida (on the road) and Auburn by margins of 12, eight and 32 points. Calipari has one of the better 3-point-shooting teams in a conference that ranks last in Division I in accuracy from beyond the arc. UK has also rebounded a higher percentage of its misses than any other offense in SEC play.
