Kentucky continues to play its best basketball against Top 15 opponents

ZGeogheganKSR

You just know that a Top 15 team hates to see the Kentucky Wildcats coming…

Mark Pope pulled off another one Tuesday night in Knoxville as Kentucky upset No. 8 Tennessee on the road 78-73. Despite being down two starters and having lost its previous two games, UK led for 35 minutes against the Volunteers. Tennessee came into this contest as the nation’s top-ranked defensive unit. Kentucky’s 78 points were the most allowed by UT all season long.

This win, in particular, felt extra special. From the missing players to playing a good rival on the road, Kentucky was not expected to steal this game. But this is slowly becoming a trend for the Wildcats under Pope. Not only do his guys step up against the best of the best, but they can also do it with their backs against the wall.

Kentucky is now 6-1 this season against teams that were ranked among the Top 15 at the time of the matchup. In three of those victories, UK was coming off a loss to an unranked foe. Whether those games are at Rupp Arena, in enemy territory, or in a neutral setting, the ‘Cats have proven they can win in any scenario when the opposing team has a number next to its name.

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Opponent	Result
Nov. 12 vs. No. 6 Duke (Atlanta)	Kentucky 77, Duke 72
Dec. 7 vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (Seattle)	Kentucky 90, Gonzaga 89 (OT)
Jan. 4 vs. No. 6 Florida	Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Jan. 11 @ No. 14 Mississippi State	Kentucky 95, Mississippi State 90
Jan. 14 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M	Kentucky 81, Texas A&M 69
Jan. 18 vs. No. 4 Alabama	Alabama 102, Kentucky 97
Jan. 28 @ No. 8 Tennessee	Kentucky 78, Tennessee 73

Six of those seven teams are still ranked among the Top 25, as well. These wins for Kentucky continue to look great on the resume. Duke and Florida are still within the Top 10. Only Gonzaga has fallen out of the Top 25, but even then, the Bulldogs are currently receiving votes in the latest poll. Kentucky also picked up a win earlier this season over a Louisville team that wasn’t ranked at the time but is now sitting at No. 21.

The Wildcats’ seven Quad 1 wins this season are third-most in the country behind only Auburn (11) and Oregon (8). All five losses this season have also come against Quad 1 opponents. UK has yet to face a Quad 2 opportunity and is a perfect 8-0 combined in Quad 3 and 4 games.

The resume is shaping up quite nicely as we inch closer and closer to February.