Multiple AP poll voters undervalue Kentucky despite dominant week

After a dominant week for Kentucky men’s basketball, the Wildcats check in at No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, which was released Monday. Following a 78-66 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday and a 107-79 blowout victory against Tennessee on Saturday, UK climbed up six spots from last week’s No. 18 ranking.

Although the Wildcats – who are now 14-3 overall with a 4-1 mark in SEC play – moved up eight spots to No. 12 in the AP poll, multiple voters undervalued UK in their respective polls this week.

According to CollegePollTracker.com, Kentucky was ranked as low as No. 21 by James Crepea, which is five spots away from the next closest votes of seven voters at No. 16. From there, the Wildcats had votes at every spot all the way up to No. 7 – five at No. 15, nine at No. 14, 11 at No. 13, 14 at No. 12, six at No. 11, three at No. 10, two at No. 9, two at No. 8 and one at No. 7.

Looking at the voters who put Kentucky in the top-10, Bryce Miller, Paul Klee and Stephen Tsai had the Wildcats at No. 10, while Jeff Borzello and Rick Bozich each had them at No. 9 and Geoff Grammer and Jon Wilner each put them at No. 8.

Kentucky’s lone vote at No. 7 came from Jesse Newell.

Fresh off their wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee, the Wildcats return to action Wednesday on the road at Texas A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Kentucky coach John Calipari on season success: ‘This is who we are’

Kentucky men’s basketball’s 2020-21 season is one it wishes it could remove from the record books forever. In an unprecedented college basketball season that was affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Wildcats significantly struggled – going just 9-16 overall and missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

After a year of hardship, Kentucky is back to its normal self this season. Through 17 games in the 2021-22 campaign, the Wildcats are 14-3 overall, 4-1 in SEC play and ranked inside the AP Top 25 at No. 18. John Calipari’s club is also riding a three-game winning streak, which has been highlighted by a dominant 107-79 win over No. 22 Tennessee on Saturday inside a packed Rupp Arena in Lexington.

Following UK’s victory over Tennessee, Calipari met with the media for his postgame press conference and was asked how good it feels to be back to being successful and having a normal season after the way last year went.

“I come back to last year. Last year was a throwaway year,” Calipari said. “I mean, you think about what it was. I felt so bad for the kids that they could not experience what Kentucky basketball’s about. We still coached them, but we never got any advantage here [at Rupp Arena]. None. It was playing like we were playing pickup. I watched some West Coast games and they brought back some bad memories when I saw no one in the stands.

“This is who we are. This is how we coach. This is us. Last year was a throwaway and, again, some people jumped on it – I’m fine with that. But this, this is what it’s about, and I want these kids to experience this. That’s why you come here.”