Kentucky Basketball Stumbles, Seeding at Risk

0:00On March 4th, Kentucky's men's basketball team has stumbled badly over the past two weeks, losing all three games to SEC opponents desperate to climb. Off the NCAA tournament bubble, the Wildcats blew leads in each match-up, with Tuesday night's collapse at Texas A&M standing out as especially painful. They held a 12-point edge late in the first half, only to watch the Aggies reel off a 27-3 run and pull away for a 96-85 victory. Texas A&M desperately needed that win after dropping six of their last eight games. It marched their fifth-quad-one victory this season, and gives them some breathing room on bracketologist boards heading into their finale at LSU. Meanwhile, Kentucky's quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday played a role, as Coach Mark Pope noted their short bench struggled with the tight schedule. Those other losses came against Auburn 10 days earlier, and Georgia four days before that. Kentucky led Auburn by nine in the second half, but let them rally for a last-second win, snapping the Tigers five-game skid.

1:02Against Georgia, the Bulldogs ended a five-of-six slump with their first victory at Rupperenus since 2009, then kept rolling with three, wins in four tries. The damage runs deeper for Kentucky's standings. They're now tied at 10 wins and seven losses in SEC play with Missouri, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt, while Georgia sits one game back with a winnable. Finale. Without an upset over Florida, the cats risk opening the conference tournament on Wednesday and tie-breakers could sting. Pope blamed fatigue from those back-to-back games, stressing its time to adapt as the postseason nears. Kentucky must regroup quickly to salvage their seating and tournament case.