Kentucky moves up to No. 9 in the Coaches Poll
Kentucky is now a consensus top-10 team in college basketball. First, it was a five-spot jump in the AP Poll up to No. 9 overall. Now, it’s a six-spot jump up to No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, the nation’s biggest riser in both.
The Cats are ranked second in the SEC, two spots behind Tennessee (No. 7). Ole Miss also snuck in at the bottom of the poll at No. 25 overall to round out conference foes. Auburn is the first school out among vote-getters, followed by Texas A&M, South Carolina and Alabama.
As for Kentucky’s previous and future opponents, Kansas comes in at No. 2 overall, followed by North Carolina at No. 13 and Gonzaga at No. 16. Miami (FL) dropped out of the rankings this week.
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | 10-1 | 785 | 20 | 4 | +3 | 1/4 |
| 2 | Kansas | 10-1 | 750 | 3 | 2 | – | 1/6 |
| 3 | Houston | 11-0 | 732 | 9 | 3 | – | 2/6 |
| 4 | Arizona | 8-1 | 707 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 1/11 |
| 5 | UConn | 10-1 | 704 | 0 | 5 | – | 4/5 |
| 6 | Marquette | 9-2 | 628 | 0 | 7 | +1 | 3/7 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 8-3 | 541 | 0 | 10 | +3 | 7/13 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 10-0 | 533 | 0 | 12 | +4 | 8/NR |
| 9 | Kentucky | 8-2 | 485 | 0 | 15 | +6 | 9/17 |
| 10 | Baylor | 9-1 | 431 | 0 | 6 | -4 | 6/17 |
| 11 | Illinois | 8-2 | 422 | 0 | 16 | +5 | 11/NR |
| 12 | Florida Atlantic | 9-2 | 403 | 0 | 14 | +2 | 9/20 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 7-3 | 371 | 0 | 9 | -4 | 9/21 |
| 14 | Creighton | 9-2 | 354 | 0 | 8 | -6 | 7/14 |
| 15 | BYU | 10-1 | 332 | 0 | 17 | +2 | 13/NR |
| 16 | Gonzaga | 8-3 | 307 | 0 | 13 | -3 | 8/16 |
| 17 | Colorado State | 10-1 | 264 | 0 | 18 | +1 | 12/21 |
| 18 | Clemson | 9-1 | 254 | 0 | 11 | -7 | 11/NR |
| 19 | Duke | 7-3 | 211 | 0 | 19 | – | 3/21 |
| 20 | Virginia | 9-1 | 184 | 0 | 21 | +1 | 18/NR |
| 21 | James Madison | 10-0 | 165 | 0 | 20 | -1 | 20/NR |
| 22 | Texas | 8-2 | 156 | 0 | 22 | – | 16/22 |
| 23 | Memphis | 8-2 | 146 | 0 | NR | +8 | 23/NR |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 8-3 | 141 | 0 | 23 | -1 | 23/NR |
| 25 | Ole Miss | 10-0 | 132 | 0 | 25 | – | 25/NR |
Others Receiving Votes
Auburn 60; Miami (FL) 41; Colorado 36; TCU 26; Michigan State 18; Ohio State 17; Grand Canyon 13; Iowa State 12; Utah 7; Texas A&M 7; South Carolina 5; New Mexico 4; Nebraska 4; Princeton 3; Nevada 3; San Diego State 2; Alabama 2; Indiana State 1; Dayton 1
AP College Basketball Poll – Dec. 18
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | TREND | POINTS |
| 1 | Purdue | 10-1 | ⬆️ 2 | 1534 (48) |
| 2 | Kansas | 10-1 | — | 1457 (6) |
| 3 | Houston | 11-0 | ⬆️ 1 | 1394 (8) |
| 4 | Arizona | 8-1 | ⬇️ 3 | 1372 |
| 5 | UConn | 10-1 | — | 1367 |
| 6 | Marquette | 9-2 | ⬆️ 1 | 1235 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 10-0 | ⬆️ 4 | 1062 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 8-3 | ⬆️ 4 | 983 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 8-2 | ⬆️ 5 | 981 |
| 10 | Baylor | 9-1 | ⬇️ 4 | 896 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 7-3 | ⬇️ 2 | 773 |
| 12 | Creighton | 9-2 | ⬇️ 4 | 734 |
| 13 | Illinois | 8-2 | ⬆️ 3 | 727 |
| 14 | Florida Atlantic | 9-2 | ⬆️ 1 | 716 |
| 15 | Gonzaga | 8-3 | ⬇️ 5 | 642 |
| 16 | Colorado State | 10-1 | ⬆️ 1 | 588 |
| 17 | BYU | 10-1 | ⬆️ 1 | 569 |
| 18 | Clemson | 9-1 | ⬇️ 5 | 501 |
| 19 | Texas | 8-2 | — | 449 |
| 20 | James Madison | 10-0 | — | 442 |
| 21 | Duke | 7-3 | — | 311 |
| 22 | Virginia | 9-1 | — | 287 |
| 23 | Memphis | 8-2 | — | 274 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 8-3 | ⬇️ 1 | 269 |
| 25 | Ole Miss | 10-0 | — | 180 |
Others Receiving Votes
Miami 97, Auburn 87, Colorado 84, Utah 37, Iowa St. 24, Ohio St. 12, Michigan St. 10, TCU 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Northwestern 5, Providence 5, Alabama 3, Dayton 3, Nevada 3, New Mexico 2, Grand Canyon 2, Washington 2, Saint Joseph’s 2, South Carolina 1, Mississippi St. 1.
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Where Kentucky stands in other national rankings
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello is all-in on the Cats, moving them up two spots from No. 9 to No. 7 in his new Power Rankings.
Kentucky assistant Bruiser Flint sparked some concern when he said before the North Carolina game that the Wildcats might have to change their up-tempo style with their big men getting healthy. Well, there was no sign of that against the Tar Heels, with Kentucky playing its second-fastest game of the season and attempting its most 3s since November. And John Calipari likely put an end to the debate after the game, saying, “This is who we are.”
Jeff Borzello, ESPN
CJ Moore of The Athletic is slowly buying Kentucky stock back after raving about the Cats to open the season. After dropping them two spots last week down to No. 16, he has now moved them back up to No. 11.
North Carolina and Kentucky played an 81-possession game on Saturday. I was out of breath just watching it. One reason to like the Wildcats even more now that Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso are back is that their nine-man rotation should allow them to wear teams out. Who else can bring players like Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard off the bench?
CJ Moore, The Athletic
Gary Parrish also has Kentucky just outside the top 10 in his latest “Top 25-and-One” rankings at CBS Sports, moving them up to No. 11 overall — a four-spot jump.
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