What Seed Is Kentucky In The NCAA Tournament?

The Kentucky Wildcats find themselves in a bit of unfamiliar territory across Kentucky sports betting as John Calipari’s team prepares for their third straight trip to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with UK being a No. 3 seed for the first time in a quarter-century in 2024.

The Wildcats secured the third seed in the South region after going 23-9 this year, despite falling to Texas A&M in their lone SEC Tournament game last week, 97-87, setting the stage for a first round matchup against Oakland University in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening.

In Calipari’s 12-year tenure in Lexington, the Wildcats have made the field nine times, with seeds as high as No. 1 (2012 and 2015) and as low as No. 8 (2014), though Kentucky’s never been a third seed under their future Hall of Fame head coach.

Now, the Wildcats face a red-hot Grizzlies team in the Steel City as a 13.5-point favorite on Fanatics Sportsbook Kentucky, with a -1000 moneyline in favor of UK, to +650 for the underdogs from the Detroit area.

All year long, BetKentucky.com has projected the Wildcats’ seed in the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with this week’s update reflecting UK’s loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament and prepping for their first round clash with Oakland on Thursday evening.

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Can Kentucky Get Back To Final Four In 2024?

It’s been 12 years since Kentucky last won it all and nine years since the Wildcats last reached the Final Four, setting the stage for what many in and around Lexington hope (and those on Kentucky betting apps) will be a historic March for Calipari’s team.

In their last two NCAAT trips, Kentucky has lost in the second round (to Kansas State in 2023) and the first round (to 15th seed St. Peter’s), while UK fell to Auburn in the Elite Eight of the 2019 tournament (77-71 in OT).

This year, Kentucky gets Oakland before playing either No. 6 Texas Tech or No. 11 NC State in the 2nd round, with a potential Sweet 16 clash against either No. 7 Florida, the “First Four” winner between Boise State and Colorado, No. 2 Marquette or No. 15 Western Kentucky.

For now, the Wildcats are looking to get back on track against the Grizzlies in Pittsburgh come Thursday night as UK tries to get in a groove and make a deep run through the field of 68 over the next few weeks in arenas across America.

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Author

Christopher Boan

@cgboan

Christopher Boan is a staff writer for BetKentucky.com. He has covered sports and sports betting for more than seven years and has worked for publications such as ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.