ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has released his latest bracketology, with four SEC teams currently projected into the field of 68.
After a big few days for the top two teams in the league, Kentucky moved up to a No. 2 seed in Thursday’s bracket while Florida dropped to a No. 4.
As for the two other teams in the mix, South Carolina fell to a No. 8 seed and Arkansas moved down a spot to a No. 10 after losing in Gainesville on Wednesday.
And after moving into the last team in role in Lunardi’s Monday bracket, Vanderbilt dropped to the first team out thanks to a few bubble teams earning quality wins over the past few days.
Georgia remains in the Next Four Out line.
Blake’s Analysis:
I’ve said it many times at this point, but it’s worth repeating:
The formula for success for any team on the bubble is simply winning games.
Vandy’s move to the First Four Out is the perfect example of that. Despite the Commodores playing well in Lexington against Kentucky, losing will pretty much always knock you down at this point in the season.
It also didn’t help that bubble teams like Marquette (who beat Xavier) and Wake Forest (who beat Louisville) got high quality victories.
I don’t know that it’s time for either South Carolina or Arkansas fans to panic due to dropping a seed line from Monday, but the Razorbacks need to avoid losing to a bubble team like Georgia in the regular season finale.
That win could put the Bulldogs quite a bit closer to being on the right side of the bubble, and it could put Arkansas one step closer to possibly being left out if it also loses its first SEC tournament game next week.
Saturday’s games will certainly go a long way toward shaping the bubble picture heading into what is sure to be an unpredictable conference tournament in Nashville.