Andy Katz names Kentucky his Team of the Week after Duke win

The praise for Kentucky continues following last week’s win over No. 6 Duke. Andy Katz named the Cats his March Madness National Team of the Week this morning for their performance in the comeback victory in the Champions Classic. He also boosted Kentucky from No. 15 to No. 5 in his Power 37 rankings. Duke fell one spot to No. 6.

In the writeup, Katz praised Kentucky’s defense on Duke superstar Cooper Flagg and said the Cats are “extremely well-connected” under Mark Pope just three games in.

The Wildcats won a thriller over Duke at the Champions Classic in Atlanta, beating the Blue Devils 77-72. Kentucky trailed by nine at the half and eight with just under nine minutes remaining. Kentucky did a great job defensively on Cooper Flagg in the final two Duke possessions, forcing turnovers. Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr scored a team-high 17 and Oklahoma transfer Otega Owes scored 15, including two clinching free throws. The Wildcats entered the week 3-0 and appeared to be extremely well-connected for coach Mark Pope. 

Andy Katz

🏆 Weekly Awards from @TheAndyKatz 🏆

Team of the Week: Kentucky
Player of the Week: John Tonje pic.twitter.com/JQPbgjjxbQ

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 18, 2024

Two of Kentucky’s future opponents are ahead of the Cats in Katz’s rankings. Gonzaga is No. 2 behind No. 1 Kansas. The Cats play the Bulldogs in Seattle on December 7. UConn is No. 3 and Auburn is up two spots to No. 4. The Tigers come to Rupp Arena on March 1. Alabama fell from No. 2 to No. 8 after losing to Purdue. Tennessee (No. 11) and Florida (No. 19) are the only other teams from the SEC in the Top 25. Arkansas is just outside at No. 26, followed by Texas A&M (No. 27) and Ohio State (No. 28). The Aggies beat the Buckeyes on Friday.

Kentucky will be back in action tomorrow night vs. Lipscomb (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). You can spend the time until then watching “The Journey” on loop.

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Kentucky in the National Rankings

The new AP and Coaches Polls will drop around lunch. Kentucky, currently No. 19 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll, is poised to make a big jump. Here’s where all the major national college basketball writers have the Cats in their rankings this morning:

• Jon Rothstein: No. 4
• Andy Katz: No. 5
• Rob Dauster: No. 6
• Jamie Shaw, On3: No. 7
• ESPN: No. 8
• Jeff Goodman: No. 8
• The Athletic: No. 9
• Kyle Boone, CBS Sports: No. 9
• Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: No. 11

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