Kentucky rises to No. 6 in AP Poll following win over Florida

As expected, Kentucky’s win over Florida resulted in a nice bump in the polls. The Cats rose from No. 10 to No. 6 in the AP Poll. The Gators, previously No. 6, are down to No. 8. Kentucky is No. 7 in the new Coaches Poll.

Kentucky and Florida are just two of nine teams from the SEC in the AP Top 25, six in the top ten. Tennessee, the only unbeaten team left in the country, remains No. 1, followed by Auburn (No. 2), Iowa State (No. 3), Duke (No. 4), and Alabama (No. 5). Four more SEC teams received votes, including Arkansas, which dropped from the rankings following the blowout at Tennessee. The Vols received 45 of the 60 first-place votes, with Auburn accounting for the remaining 15.

The Cats play Georgia in Athens tomorrow night. The Bulldogs lost at Ole Miss on Saturday and are 12-2 on the season. They received six points. Mississippi State, Saturday’s opponent, is No. 14 in the poll, setting up a monster showdown in Starkville.

AP College Basketball Poll – January 6

RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	TREND
1	Tennessee (45)	14-0	1484	–
2	Auburn (15)	13-1	1453	–
3	Iowa State	12-1	1369	–
4	Duke	12-2	1309	–
5	Alabama	12-2	1260	–
6	Kentucky	12-2	1154	+4
7	Marquette	13-2	1134	+1
8	Florida	13-1	1045	-2
9	UConn	12-3	964	+2
10	Texas A&M	12-2	924	+3
11	Kansas	10-3	809	-4
12	Houston	10-3	768	+2
13	Illinois	11-3	693	+9
14	Mississippi State	13-1	690	+3
15	Oregon	13-2	624	-6
16	Michigan State	12-2	616	+2
17	Oklahoma	13-1	553	-5
18	Gonzaga	12-4	469	+1
19	Memphis	12-3	384	+2
20	Purdue	11-4	374	–
21	West Virginia	11-2	277	+5
22	UCLA	11-3	234	-7
23	Ole Miss	12-2	219	+1
24	Michigan	11-3	160	+2
25	Utah State	14-1	119	+1

Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 91, Arkansas 62, Nebraska 62, Baylor 32, Wisconsin 31, St. John’s 27, San Diego St. 26, Cincinnati 22, Clemson 19, Maryland 7, Georgia 6, St. Bonaventure 6, Texas Tech 6, Indiana 6, Missouri 5, Arizona 3, Dayton 1, Georgetown 1, Vanderbilt 1, Xavier 1.

Kentucky in other national rankings

Kentucky made similar jumps in other national rankings, now firmly in the top ten and inching towards the top five.

• On3’s Jamie Shaw: No. 6 (Last week: No. 10)
• Jeff Goodman: No. 6 (Last week: No. 7)
• CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone: No. 7 (Last week: No. 10)
• CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 7 (Last week: No. 8)
• John Fanta: No. 7
• The Athletic: No. 9 (Last week: No. 9)

The Athletic’s CJ Moore kept Kentucky at No. 9 in his rankings, but in his write-up, noted how much better Koby Brea‘s shooting makes the Cats. Brea had seven threes in the win over Florida.

Koby Brea busted out of a shooting slump — 6 of 20 from 3 in his previous three games — to shoot Florida off the floor on Saturday in a 106-100 win Saturday. This was peak Kentucky offense, with six players scoring in double figures, led by Brea’s career-high 23. The Wildcats share the ball and take great shots, and Brea’s gravity is such a weapon. Even when the defense tries to stick to him, he patiently waits for an opening and masterfully uses shot fakes, raised-eyebrow fakes or side dribbles tightroping the 3-point line to finally find space. It’s beautiful to watch. Brea has already made 45 3s at a 52.3 percent clip. It’s unreal how accurate he is when opponents are trying to do everything in their power to not let him get an open shot.

The Athletic