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The most anticipated game of the second round might be the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats vs. the No. 10 Wichita State Shockers in Indianapolis. It’s a rematch of one of the best NCAA tournament games in recent memory — the 2014 classic that saw eighth-seeded Kentucky knock off an undefeated and top-seeded Shockers team in the final seconds.
The subtext of that game is part of what made it so intriguing: Everyone knew the Wildcats were way underseeded that season with a team full of McDonald’s All-Americans. Wichita State got screwed, and everyone knew it.
This year, the roles are reversed. It’s another second-round meeting, but this time Wichita State is the team wildly underseeded. John Calipari isn’t happy about it:
During our postgame, @UKCoachCalipari said about No. 10 WSU being seeding wrong: "Could be
— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) March 18, 2017
We are a 2 seed playing a 4 in the second round."
Calipari is right: The Shockers have no business being a No. 10 seed, and this matchup is at least one round too early.
Dayton coach Archie Miller, whose Flyers lost to Wichita in the Round of 64, echoed the sentiment: Wichita deserved a No. 4 seed.
When the bracket was announced on Selection Sunday, Wichita State was No. 8 overall in KenPom’s rankings and still got a 10 seed. Right now, Kentucky is ranked No. 4 overall on KenPom and Wichita State is No. 5.
Objectively, we have a meeting of top-five in the Round of 32. Shout out to Cleanthony Early and Julius Randle because this all sounds too familiar.
Kentucky vs. Wichita State tips off at 2:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. As a wise man once said, get your popcorn ready.
