Kentucky’s win over St. John’s wasn’t quite enough to get the Cats back in the Top 25. The new AP and Coaches Polls are out, and Kentucky is just outside of both Top 25s, coming in at No. 26. Iowa beat the Cats out by one point in the AP Poll. St. John’s, previously No. 22 in the AP Poll, dropped out of the Top 25, down to No. 29. The Red Storm is tied with Kentucky at No. 26 in the Coaches Poll.
There are six SEC teams in the AP Top 25, led by Vanderbilt, which is up to No. 11 in both polls after its 12-0 start. Last week, the ‘Dores beat Memphis and Wake Forest on the road. Alabama, Kentucky’s first SEC opponent, is No. 14 in the AP Poll, followed by Arkansas (No. 18), Tennessee (No. 19), Florida (No. 22), and Georgia (No. 23). Also receiving votes in the AP Poll: Auburn and LSU. Arizona and Michigan remain No. 1 and No. 2 in both polls, while Iowa State is up to No. 3, UConn No. 4, and Purdue No. 5 in the AP Top 25.
We won’t have to wait long to see the Cats in action again. Kentucky takes on Bellarmine tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET (SEC Network+), a rare matinee at Rupp Arena before a ten-day break. As mentioned, SEC play starts on Saturday, Jan. 3, at Alabama.
Kentucky’s opponents by AP Ranking
No. 7 Gonzaga: Dec. 5 – 94-59 L
No. 9 Michigan State: Nov. 18 – 83-66 L
No. 12 North Carolina: Dec. 2 – 67-64 L
No. 16 Louisville: Nov. 11 – 96-88 L
No. 11 Vanderbilt: Jan. 27 (away), Feb. 28 (home)
No. 14 Alabama: Jan. 3 (away)
No. 18 Arkansas: Jan. 31 (away)
No. 19 Tennessee: Jan 17 (away), Feb. 7 (home)
No. 22 Florida: Feb. 14 (away), March 7 (home)
No. 23 Georgia: Feb. 17 (home)
AP Poll – Dec. 22
RankTeamRecord / TrendPoints1Arizona11-01428 (38)2Michigan11-01408 (19)3Iowa State12-0 / +11320 (1)4UConn12-1 / -11281 5Purdue11-1 / +111746Duke11-1 / -31148 7Gonzaga12-11080 8Houston11-11061 9Michigan State11-198510BYU11-1966 11Vanderbilt12-0 / +2810 12North Carolina11-1806 13Nebraska12-0 / +2704 14Alabama9-3 / +2638 15Texas Tech9-3 / +458816Louisville10-2 / -5555 17Kansas9-349418Arkansas9-3 / -4470 19Tennessee9-3 / +146020Illinois8-3 / -242921Virginia10-1 / +2252 22Florida8-4 / +1215 23Georgia10-1 / +212724USC12-192 25Iowa10-279
Others Receiving Votes: Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. John’s 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah St. 5, Arizona St 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, Saint Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma St. 1, UCF 1, NC State 1.
USA Today Coaches Poll – Dec. 22
RankTeamRecordPTSChg1Michigan11-0764 (20)–2Arizona11-0754 (11)–3Iowa State12-0696+14UConn12-1662+15Purdue11-1622+16Duke11-1611-37Gonzaga12-1584–8Houston11-1565–9Michigan State11-1532–10BYU11-1515–11Vanderbilt12-0433+112North Carolina11-1402+113Nebraska12-0371+214Louisville10-2346-315Alabama9-3306+116Texas Tech9-3298+317Kansas9-3276–18Arkansas9-3227-419Illinois8-3211-120Tennessee9-3210+321Virginia10-1189+122Florida8-4154-123Iowa10-2102+224Georgia10-160+225USC12-135+2
Schools Dropped Out: No. 20 St. John’s; No. 24 Auburn
Others Receiving Votes: St. John’s 32; Kentucky 32; Seton Hall 20; Utah State 15; Auburn 10; California 9; UCLA 8; Saint Louis 8; LSU 6; Yale 4; Oklahoma State 3; Saint Mary’s 1; Indiana 1; Clemson 1
Kentucky in other national rankings
Most national media members have the Cats ranked. Kyle Boone, whose rankings are a projection of what he thinks the AP Poll will be, was the only one to leave the Cats out, but said they are right on the cusp of the Top 25.
CJ Moore shared some clips from the second half of the St. John’s game that showed why Quaintance and Lowe make Kentucky a totally different team, one capable of winning the SEC.
“This is what it was supposed to look like for Kentucky. High energy, Lowe with the ball in his hands and UK’s physicality and size wearing down the opponent. Quaintance seemed to raise everyone’s effort with his motor. It was only one game, but a very encouraging one for the Cats. Last week, I wrote that if it went right, the Lowe/Quaintance combo would make the Cats an NCAA Tournament team and help them finish around fifth in the league. It’s possible I’ll want a do-over on that. The version of the Cats that played Saturday could contend for an SEC title if they play that hard every game going forward.”
If you prefer numbers, Kentucky is No. 22 in the latest NET Rankings, No. 18 in KenPom, and No. 23 in BartTorvik.