Kentucky jumps up to No. 4 in latest Coaches Poll
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Make that two straight weeks moving up a single spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, jumping from No. 6 to No. 5 last week and now No. 5 to No. 4 this week. All it took was a rivalry win over Louisville inside Rupp Arena for Kentucky — and Marquette to take a loss.
That’s once again good for third in the SEC behind only Tennessee (No. 1) and Auburn (No. 2). Elsewhere, Iowa State (No. 3), Duke (No. 5), Florida (No. 6), Alabama (No. 7), Kansas (No. 8), Marquette (No. 9) and Oregon (No. 10). Texas A&M (No. 11), Oklahoma (No. 15), Ole Miss (No. 16) and Mississippi State (No. 25) make up the other SEC programs in the top 25 with Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri also receiving votes — 12 of 16 teams in the league included in those two categories.
Kentucky has two top-15 wins away from Rupp Arena, plus future opportunities against eight ranked teams and ten overall with home-and-homes vs. Tennessee and Auburn.
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Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tennessee | 10-0 | 765 | 22 | 1 | – | 1/12 |
2 | Auburn | 9-1 | 744 | 9 | 2 | – | 2/11 |
3 | Iowa State | 9-1 | 708 | 0 | 3 | – | 3/7 |
4 | Kentucky | 10-1 | 664 | 0 | 5 | +1 | 4/23 |
5 | Duke | 8-2 | 638 | 0 | 6 | +1 | 5/10 |
6 | Florida | 10-0 | 610 | 0 | 7 | +1 | 6/21 |
7 | Alabama | 8-2 | 601 | 0 | 8 | +1 | 2/12 |
8 | Kansas | 8-2 | 518 | 0 | 10 | +2 | 1/10 |
9 | Marquette | 9-2 | 496 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 4/17 |
10 | Oregon | 10-1 | 454 | 0 | 12 | +2 | 10/NR |
11 | Texas A&M | 9-2 | 368 | 0 | 18 | +7 | 11/24 |
12 | Houston | 6-3 | 363 | 0 | 13 | +1 | 4/18 |
13 | UConn | 8-3 | 337 | 0 | 20 | +7 | 2/NR |
14 | Gonzaga | 7-3 | 328 | 0 | 9 | -5 | 4/14 |
15 | Oklahoma | 10-0 | 308 | 0 | 17 | +2 | 15/21 |
16 | Ole Miss | 9-1 | 282 | 0 | 15 | -1 | 15/NR |
17 | Purdue | 8-3 | 264 | 0 | 11 | -6 | 6/17 |
18 | UCLA | 9-1 | 263 | 0 | 21 | +3 | 18/NR |
19 | Michigan State | 8-2 | 178 | 0 | 19 | – | 19/NR |
20 | Cincinnati | 8-1 | 146 | 0 | 23 | +3 | 14/23 |
21 | Michigan | 8-2 | 113 | 0 | 14 | -7 | 14/23 |
22 | Memphis | 8-2 | 111 | 0 | NR | +10 | 15/NR |
23 | San Diego State | 7-2 | 110 | 0 | 24 | +1 | 23/NR |
24 | Dayton | 9-2 | 98 | 0 | NR | +20 | 24/NR |
25 | Mississippi State | 9-1 | 92 | 0 | NR | +1 | 25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 16 Clemson; No. 22 Wisconsin; No. 25 Baylor;
Others Receiving Votes
Clemson 87; Baylor 79; Illinois 50; St. John’s 48; Drake 44; Utah State 40; Arkansas 31; Maryland 29; Georgia 23; Wisconsin 22; Pittsburgh 21; Missouri 18; North Carolina 9; West Virginia 5; Creighton 5; Texas Tech 3; Penn State 2
AP College Basketball Poll – December 16
- Tennessee (10-0) – 1537 (50)
- Auburn (9-1) – 1483 (12)
- Iowa State (9-1) – 1416
- Kentucky (10-1) – 1325
- Duke (8-2) – 1324
- Alabama (8-2) – 1210
- Florida (10-0) – 1169
- Kansas (8-2) – 1056
- Marquette (9-2) – 926
- Oregon (10-1) – 903
- UConn (8-3) – 808
- Texas A&M (9-2) – 758
- Gonzaga (7-3) – 737
- Oklahoma (10-0) – 732
- Houston (6-3) – 582
- Purdue (8-3) – 498
- Ole Miss (9-1) – 459
- UCLA (9-1) – 436
- Cincinnati (8-1) – 325
- Michigan State (8-2) – 322
- Memphis (8-2) – 287
- Dayton (9-2) – 281
- San Diego State (7-2) – 250
- Michigan (8-2) – 209
- Clemson (9-2) – 175
Others Receiving Votes: Mississippi St. 158, Arkansas 151, Missouri 120, Baylor 115, Illinois 70, Drake 52, St. John’s 50, Utah St. 48, Pittsburgh 28, Maryland 24, West Virginia 19, Wisconsin 18, Georgia 18, Oklahoma St. 16, Arizona St 14, Creighton 12, North Carolina 9, Penn St. 8, Indiana 7, Texas 3, St. Bonaventure 2.
Kentucky in other National Rankings
- ESPN: No. 4
- CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 4
- Jon Rothstein: No. 4
- Andy Katz: No. 4
- John Fanta: No. 4
- Jeff Goodman: No. 4
- The Athletic: No. 6
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