Kentucky Basketball is up one spot to No. 8 in the AP Poll

Kentucky made a big jump in the rankings last Monday following the win over Duke. This week, the Cats solidified their spot as a top-ten team. The new AP Poll is out and Kentucky is No. 8, up one spot from last week. They are also No. 8 in the new Coaches Poll, up three spots from No. 11.

The top five of the AP Poll remain the same: Kansas (No. 1), UConn (No. 2), Gonzaga (No. 3), Auburn (No. 4), and Iowa State (No. 5). Houston is up to No. 6, Tennessee jumped four spots to No. 7, Kentucky is No. 8, Alabama is down a spot to No. 9, and Marquette is No. 10. There are five more SEC teams in the Top 25: Florida (No. 18), Arkansas (No. 19), Texas A&M (No. 20), Ole Miss (No. 23), and Mississippi State (No. 25).

As you know, Kentucky cruised to wins over Lipscomb (97-68) and Jackson State (108-59) last week. The Cats are 5-0, their best start since the 2016-17 team, and one of just four teams nationally to make ten or more threes in every game this season. Kentucky is averaging 97.0 points per game, which ranks fourth nationally, and 21.8 assists per contest, which is tied with Xavier for first.

Tomorrow night, Kentucky hosts Western Kentucky in the finale of the BBN Invitational (6:30 PM, ESPNU). On Friday, Georgia State comes to Rupp Arena (7:00 PM, SEC Network), the Cats’ final tune-up for the game vs. Clemson.

AP College Basketball Poll – Nov. 25

1. Kansas (5-0) – 1536 (51)
2. UConn (4-0) – 1536 (51)
3. Gonzaga (5-0) – 1428 (2)
4. Auburn (4-0) – 1393 (3)
5. Iowa State (3-0) – 1216
6. Houston (3-1) – 1125
7. Tennessee (6-0) – 1116
8. Kentucky (5-0) – 1075
9. Alabama (4-1) – 1065
10. Marquette (6-0) – 1004
11. Duke (4-1) – 986
12. North Carolina (3-1) – 976
13. Purdue (5-1) – 865
14. Indiana (4-0) – 666
15. Wisconsin (7-0) – 641
16. Cincinnati (5-0) – 610
17. Baylor (4-2) – 482
18. Florida (6-0) – 466
19. Arkansas (4-1) – 387
20. Texas A&M (4-1) – 318
21. Creighton (4-1) – 198
22. Xavier (5-0) – 191
23. Ole Miss (5-0) – 180
24. Arizona (2-2) – 154
25. Mississippi State (5-0) – 86

Others Receiving Votes: BYU 70, Pittsburgh 62, Texas 57, Ohio St. 55, Saint Mary’s 52, Illinois 50, Memphis 38, Texas Tech 31, Drake 29, Nebraska 21, Michigan St. 14, Georgia 11, St. John’s 10, Oregon 10, Penn St. 9, Utah St. 6, Vanderbilt 6, Nevada 5, UCLA 5, Arizona St 5, Maryland 4, Providence 3, Furman 2, Florida St. 1, Columbia 1.

Kentucky in other National Rankings

Looking at all the rankings from college basketball writers and personalities, Kentucky is a consensus top-ten team in the nation. You love to see it.

• Jon Rothstein: No. 4
• Andy Katz: No. 5
• Jeff Goodman: No. 6
• On3’s Jamie Shaw: No. 6
• John Fanta: No. 8
• ESPN: No. 10
• The Athletic: No. 10
• CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 10
• CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno: No. 10

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