Joe Lunardi's Bracketology update could set up a Pope vs. Calipari Tournament matchup

Kentucky made a big jump since his last seeding update.

Nov 19, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the second half against the Lipscomb Bisons at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

It's pretty early in the season still, but Kentucky has already added a big resume win over Duke, which happened in early November. Now with a big week coming up, Kentucky has a chance to keep adding to that resume. On Tuesday, the Wildcats take on Clemson on the road for their first true road game of the season. Then on Saturday, they're off to Seattle to face No. 7 Gonzaga that will be a highly-anticipated matchup.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi released his updated bracketolgy for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and the Wildcats made a big jump since his last update. Kentucky is slotted as a 2 seed in the West region, having a potential matchup with Lipscomb in the 1st round, before a huge 2nd round possible matchup with John Calipari and Arkansas. Now that would be a wild scene, wouldn't it? Obviously, there's not much stock to be put into bracketology this early in the season, but the possibility of a Mark Pope vs. John Calipari matchup is certainly intriguing for everyone involved. Life would really come full circle for Kentucky fans.

Along with Kentucky in the projected West region, Gonzaga, who Kentucky faces on Saturday, is the No. 1 seed in the region, with Baylor being the 3 seed, Oregon being the 4 seed, and Pittsburgh slotted in at No. 5 to makeup the top seeds in the region. It certainly is an interesting projection that Kentucky fans would love to see happen.

It's really early in the season and there's a lot of time for things to really shakeup regarding Lunardi's bracketology. Having 12 SEC teams included in the NCAA Tournament projection, which would be a record, will certainly help Kentucky continue to rack up big quality wins for their resume.