Kentucky stays in Top 10 of AP and Coaches Polls after 1-1 week

Kentucky’s wild week didn’t cost them much in the polls. After the loss at Georgia and the win at Mississippi State, the Cats fell from No. 6 to No. 8 in the AP Poll. They’re down two spots to No. 9 in the new Coaches Poll.

Auburn is the new No. 1 team in the land in both polls. Tennessee, which lost at Florida by 30, fell from No. 1 to No. 6 in the AP Poll behind Alabama (No. 4) and Florida (No. 5). There are nine SEC teams in the AP Top 25, including Georgia which jumped into the rankings after beating Kentucky on Tuesday. Five of those nine teams are in the top ten, with Texas A&M, Kentucky’s opponent tomorrow night, just outside at No. 11.

Two cool notes: this is the ninth straight week Kentucky has been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll, the longest single-season streak since the 2018-19 season. Also, with the women’s team coming in at No. 12 in their AP Poll, Kentucky is the only Division I school with both its men’s and women’s basketball teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP Poll.

So, No. 11 Aggies on Tuesday and No. 4 Alabama on Saturday. Never a dull moment in the SEC this season.

AP College Basketball Poll – Jan. 13

RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	TREND
1	Auburn (60)	15-1	1548	+1
2	Iowa State	14-1	1469	+1
3	Duke (1)	14-2	1403	+1
4	Alabama	14-2	1338	+1
5	Florida (1)	15-1	1326	+3
6	Tennessee	15-1	1251	-5
7	Marquette	14-2	1184	–
8	Kentucky	13-3	1039	-2
9	Kansas	12-3	983	+2
10	Houston	12-3	935	+2
11	Texas A&M	13-3	883	-1
12	Michigan State	14-2	797	+4
13	Oregon	15-2	781	+2
14	UConn	13-4	665	-5
15	Mississippi State	14-2	624	-1
16	Gonzaga	14-4	569	+2
17	Purdue	13-4	553	+3
18	Memphis	13-3	511	+1
19	Illinois	12-4	496	-6
20	Michigan	13-3	418	+4
21	Ole Miss	14-2	351	+2
22	Utah State	16-1	250	+3
23	Georgia	14-2	221	+3
24	Wisconsin	13-3	132	+2
25	Baylor	11-4	119	+1

Others Receiving Votes: St. John’s 83, Oklahoma 63, West Virginia 61, Arizona 26, Louisville 17, Texas Tech 12, Maryland 11, Clemson 8, Missouri 8, Cincinnati 4, San Diego St. 4, Saint Mary’s 3, UC Irvine 2, New Mexico 2

USA Today Coaches Poll – Jan. 13

Rank	Team	Record	PTS (1st)	Chg
1	Auburn	15-1	768 (25)	+1
2	Iowa State	14-1	739 (5)	+1
3	Duke	14-2	705	+1
4	Florida	15-1	649	+4
5	Alabama	14-2	648	–
6	Tennessee	15-1	626 (1)	-5
7	Marquette	14-2	587	-1
8	Houston	12-3	522	+3
9	Kentucky	13-3	514	-2
10	Kansas	12-3	460	+2
11	Texas A&M	13-3	425	-2
12	Michigan State	14-2	424	+2
13	UConn	13-4	345	-3
14	Oregon	15-2	343	+3
15	Purdue	13-4	294	+4
16	Gonzaga	14-4	285	+2
17	Memphis	13-3	272	+3
18	Mississippi State	14-2	267	-5
19	Michigan	13-3	231	+5
20	Illinois	12-4	223	-5
21	Ole Miss	14-2	195	+1
22	Utah State	16-1	143	+3
23	Georgia	14-2	80	+10
24	Baylor	11-4	72	+2
25	West Virginia	12-3	69	-2

Others Receiving Votes: St. John’s 52; Wisconsin 29; Arizona 29; New Mexico 19; Oklahoma 14; UCLA 12; Maryland 8; Texas Tech 6; Clemson 5; Saint Mary’s 4; Louisville 3; Indiana 3; San Diego State 2; Missouri 2; UC Irvine 1

Kentucky in other National Rankings

Most college basketball writers kept the Cats in the top ten, the lone exception being Andy Katz, who has them just outside at No. 11.

• Jon Rothstein: No. 8
• John Fanta: No. 8
• CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone: No. 8
• CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 8
• On3’s Jamie Shaw: No. 9
• The Athletic: No. 10
• Andy Katz: No. 11

Even though Fanta dropped Kentucky a spot to No. 8 after the loss to Georgia, he still thinks the Cats have Final Four potential.

Big Blue Nation might be upset with me for having the Wildcats at No. 8, but every game matters — and Kentucky was run off the floor by Georgia on Tuesday, 82-69. Kentucky responded with a 95-90 win over Mississippi State on Saturday behind 27 points from Jaxson Robinson and some big shots from Ansley Almonor. Amari Williams also delivered 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, as the Cats notched their fourth win over a top-16 team in the NET. This team is capable of reaching San Antonio because their offense is chock-full of talent and options.

John Fanta