In or out: Kentucky

Through Wednesday's games, Kentucky is the last at-large team in. Last year, we missed Kentucky after their Jekyll and Hyde season, though I did note before the fact that the Wildcats would be a problem.

So what about this year? They again have an imbalance between their conference and non-conference RPI ranks, though not nearly as drastic:

I've written about Kentucky several times this year. I still can't decide how I feel about them.

Their 4-5 record against RPI top 50 teams is better than most of the other bubble teams, and their 6-7 record against top 100 teams is OK. The two things that may hurt them most are their single win over an RPI top 25 team (over West Virginia in Las Vegas) and their nine games against teams ranked lower than 200. (Tennessee, whom the Wildcats decisively beat twice, is today 26th in RPI, so that one top 25 win could quickly - and arbitrarily - become three.)

I think that as long as Kentucky takes either LSU (at home) or Florida (in Gainesville) and is not drastically upset in the SEC tournament, they should be in good shape. Otherwise they could sneak in if the bubble stays weak.