Kentucky moves up to No. 17 in AP and Coaches Polls
After three straight weeks of falling in the polls, a pair of back-to-back double-digit victories has Kentucky moving back up in the rankings — and deservedly so.
The Cats dropped from No. 6 all the way down to No. 22 from Week 12 to Week 15 of the AP Poll. Now after 12- and 11-point wins over Ole Miss and at Auburn, they’re back up to No. 17. That’s the highest they’ve been since the Week 14 update when they also came in at No. 17 overall back on Feb. 5 amid the team’s three-game home losing streak.
Tennessee (19-6) leads the SEC at No. 5 overall, followed by Alabama (18-7) at No. 13 and Auburn (20-6) at No. 14. South Carolina (21-5) took a tumble to No. 20 overall while Florida (18-7) introduced itself to the rankings at No. 24 overall.
AP Poll – February 19
The Cats move up to No. 17 in the Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn | 24-2 | 800 | 32 | 1 | – | 1/5 |
| 2 | Houston | 22-3 | 764 | 0 | 3 | +1 | 2/6 |
| 3 | Purdue | 23-3 | 715 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 1/4 |
| 4 | Arizona | 20-5 | 710 | 0 | 6 | +2 | 1/13 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 19-6 | 641 | 0 | 9 | +4 | 5/13 |
| 6 | Iowa State | 20-5 | 607 | 0 | 10 | +4 | 6/NR |
| 7 | Duke | 20-5 | 580 | 0 | 8 | +1 | 3/21 |
| 8 | Marquette | 19-6 | 553 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 3/18 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 20-6 | 546 | 0 | 5 | -4 | 3/21 |
| 10 | Kansas | 20-6 | 538 | 0 | 7 | -3 | 1/10 |
| 11 | Baylor | 19-6 | 508 | 0 | 13 | +2 | 6/19 |
| 12 | Illinois | 19-6 | 431 | 0 | 14 | +2 | 8/NR |
| 13 | Alabama | 18-7 | 417 | 0 | 15 | +2 | 13/NR |
| 14 | Auburn | 20-6 | 335 | 0 | 12 | -2 | 6/NR |
| 15 | Creighton | 19-7 | 329 | 0 | 16 | +1 | 7/NR |
| 16 | Dayton | 21-4 | 300 | 0 | 18 | +2 | 16/NR |
| 17 | Kentucky | 18-7 | 291 | 0 | 20 | +3 | 6/20 |
| 18 | Saint Mary’s | 21-6 | 251 | 0 | 19 | +1 | 18/NR |
| 19 | San Diego State | 20-6 | 185 | 0 | NR | +12 | 15/NR |
| 20 | South Carolina | 21-5 | 180 | 0 | 11 | -9 | 11/NR |
| 21 | BYU | 18-7 | 105 | 0 | 17 | -4 | 12/NR |
| 22 | Washington State | 20-6 | 97 | 0 | NR | +12 | 22/NR |
| 23 | Texas Tech | 18-7 | 71 | 0 | NR | +4 | 15/NR |
| 24 | Colorado State | 20-6 | 65 | 0 | 25 | +1 | 12/NR |
| 25 | TCU | 18-7 | 64 | 0 | NR | +8 | 22/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 21 Oklahoma; No. 21 Wisconsin; No. 23 Virginia; No. 24 Indiana State
Others Receiving Votes
Gonzaga 61; Virginia 59; Florida 40; South Florida 35; Utah State 24; Michigan State 23; Grand Canyon 23; Wisconsin 16; Clemson 12; Oklahoma 9; Florida Atlantic 9; Nevada 4; James Madison 1; Boise State 1
Where Kentucky stands in other national rankings
After hitting the panic button on the Cats last week, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello named Kentucky his Team of the Week in his latest Power Rankings, but still had John Calipari’s group in the waiting room overall — outside the top 16.
Elsewhere, FOX Sports’ John Fanta moved UK back up to No. 16 overall “after a mammoth road win at Auburn on Saturday,” adding that “the Wildcats showed that they can defend on the big stage.”
“Kentucky has some of the highest variance in NCAA Tournament results in the country this year. They could make the Final Four or lose in the first round and I wouldn’t be shocked.”
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish is slowly buying back stock in the Cats after having them unranked in his previous updates, now slotting them at No. 22 overall.
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