Kentucky has been rewarded for their actions that took place Wednesday night down in Starkville, Mississippi. Heading into the conference matchup, the team and the fanbase were aware that a win against the Bulldogs would help them cement their name as tournmanent-worthy, at least until their next game. So, from after the win Wednesday night up to Saturday's game, they have been upgraded in their backetology position.
They were last labeled as one of the 'First Four Out' by ESPN's Joe Lunardi just a few days before the game, which puts them as one of the play-in games, if the tournament had started that day. With Wednesday night's win, they essentially traded places with Mississippi State and picked up their second Quad 1 win for their resume, upgrading them as one of the 'Last Four In' by Mr. Lunardi.
(Image via ESPNLunardi/Twitter)
Also, on the same night, Texas A&M beat Arkansas which cemented Kentucky's win over the Aggies as a Quad 1 win as well. With No. 10 Tennessee coming to town on Saturday, if Kentucky can defeat them again, it will be another Q1 win added to their resume.
The 'Last Four In' tab has the Cats officially in the big dance as of today, as long as they don't lose out or something drastic like that. With that being said, each game moving forward does matter quite a bit and each matchup will be a game-by-game evaluation. For them to give themselves the best chance to stay in the tournament, they need to keep winning.