Kentucky falls in AP, Coaches Polls after loss to Texas, win over Tennessee

Kentucky notched its second win over a top-five Tennessee team on Tuesday; however, the Cats’ loss at Texas on Saturday cost them a few spots in the polls. The new AP Poll is out and Kentucky is No. 17, down two spots from No. 15. The Cats are No. 21 in the Coaches Poll, down three spots from No. 18.

Auburn remains the No. 1 team in the land in the AP Poll following the win over Alabama, receiving all but one of the first-place votes. Florida got the other, taking the Crimson Tide’s No. 2 spot. Duke is No. 3, Alabama No. 4, Houston No. 5, Tennessee No. 6, and Texas A&M No. 7. The Cats play the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

Also in the top 15: Missouri, which climbed six spots to No. 15. Kentucky closes the regular season in Columbia on March 7. In total, there are nine SEC teams in the AP Top 25, with Mississippi State coming in at No. 21 and Ole Miss falling five spots to No. 24. Louisville is No. 25.

AP College Basketball Poll – Feb. 17

RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	TREND
1	Auburn (59)	23-2	1499	–
2	Florida (1)	22-3	1387	+1
3	Duke	22-3	1382	–
4	Alabama	21-4	1335	-2
5	Houston	21-4	1290	+1
6	Tennessee	21-5	1147	-1
7	Texas A&M	20-5	1140	+1
8	Iowa State	20-5	1034	+2
9	Texas Tech	20-5	969	+3
10	St. John’s	22-4	933	-1
11	Wisconsin	20-5	879	+5
12	Michigan	20-5	734	+8
13	Purdue	19-7	732	-6
14	Michigan State	20-5	724	-3
15	Missouri	19-6	573	+6
16	Marquette	19-6	527	+2
17	Kentucky	17-8	518	-2
18	Clemson	21-5	499	+5
19	Arizona	17-8	362	-6
20	Maryland	20-6	361	+5
21	Mississippi State	18-7	325	+1
22	Memphis	21-5	308	-8
23	Kansas	17-8	193	-6
24	Ole Miss	19-7	177	-5
25	Louisville	20-6	137	+1

Others Receiving Votes: New Mexico 117, Saint Mary’s 63, UCLA 56, Creighton 27, Illinois 22, UConn 20, George Mason 15, Gonzaga 14, High Point 1.

USA Today Coaches Poll – Feb. 17

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	Chg
1	Auburn	23-2	775 (31)	+1
2	Florida	22-3	712	+1
3	Duke	22-3	704	+2
4	Alabama	21-4	692	-3
5	Houston	21-4	672	+1
6	Tennessee	21-5	605	-2
7	Texas A&M	20-5	570	+2
8	Iowa State	20-5	534	+2
9	St. John’s	22-4	501	-1
10	Texas Tech	20-5	488	+2
11	Wisconsin	20-5	441	+4
12	Michigan	20-5	413	+5
13	Michigan State	20-5	407	-2
14	Purdue	19-7	388	-7
15	Marquette	19-6	284	+1
16	Missouri	19-6	272	+6
17	Clemson	21-5	267	+2
18	Arizona	17-8	223	-5
19	Memphis	21-5	184	-5
20	Maryland	20-6	183	+5
21	Kentucky	17-8	162	-3
22	Louisville	20-6	109	+5
23	Mississippi State	18-7	106	+3
24	Saint Mary’s	23-4	86	+4
25	Kansas	17-8	69	-5

Schools Dropped Out: No. 21 Creighton; No. 23 Ole Miss; No. 24 UConn

Others Receiving Votes: Ole Miss 64; UCLA 49; New Mexico 41; Creighton 37; Gonzaga 15; UConn 11; Illinois 5; UC San Diego 3; VCU 2; George Mason 1

Kentucky in other National Rankings

Kentucky fell a few spots in most of the national rankings; however, some pundits actually boosted the Cats for their win over Tennessee. Jon Rothstein has the Cats ranked the highest, at No. 14.

• Jon Rothstein: No. 14 (Last week: No. 16)
• CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 16 (Last week: No. 16)
• The Athletic: No. 17 (Last week: No. 22)
• CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone: No. 18 (Last week: No. 16)
• Jeff Goodman: No. 19 (Last week: No. 15)
• John Fanta: No. 19 (Last week: No. 20)
• Andy Katz: No. 20 (Last week: No. 30)
• On3’s Jamie Shaw: No. 22 (Last week: No. 18)

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