Monday Headlines: Kentucky Soars in the College Basketball Rankings (UPDATE)

Mark Pope — Dylan Ballard – A Sea Of Blue

The Cats made a historic jump after beating Duke.

Update: Kentucky made a big jump in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, climbing all the way to No. 9 overall. Kansas retains the top spot, while the SEC also got Auburn (4) and Alabama (8) in the top 10.

Somehow, the Coaches Top 25 Poll still has Kentucky at No. 11 and behind the Duke Blue Devils at No. 10. That poll also features Auburn (3), Alabama (7), and Tennessee (9) representing the SEC in the top 10.

Kentucky climbed to No. 5 overall in Andy Katz’s latest Power 37 at NCAA.com. Katz also named Kentucky his March Madness National Team of the Week.

In terms of advanced analytics, Kentucky checked in at No. 16 at BartTorvik, No. 13 at EvanMiya, No. 22 at KenPom, No. 12 at Haslametrics, and No. 13 at DRatings.

One other note: Per UK’s Corey Price, the Cats made their biggest jump ever in the AP Poll.

The @KentuckyMBB team now has their largest single-week jump in the @AP_Top25 in the history of the poll (since the 1948-1949 season) (10 spots, #19 to #9). The previous record was 9 spots, accomplished in the 2000-2001 season:

– February 12th, 2001: #22

– February 19th, 2001:…

— Corey Price (@coreyp08) November 18, 2024

Also, a shoutout to the women’s basketball team, who climbed to No. 15 in the latest AP Poll after beating No. 25 Louisville in overtime last week. Kenny Brooks has something cooking at Memorial Coliseum.

Go Cats!

Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball is on the rise after knocking off the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils at the State Farm Champions Classic last week in Atlanta.

Mark Pope’s Wildcats battled back in the second half, playing intense defense and executing on offense/making clutch free throws down the stretch to pull out the victory.

Before beating Duke, Kentucky was ranked No. 19. Now, with that victory on their resume and standing tall at 3-0, they’re expected to rise quite a bit in the AP Top-25 rankings.

CBS Sports predicts Kentucky to land at No. 9, which On3 seems to agree with.

Fox Sports, however, doesn’t see Kentucky cracking the top-10 and instead just outside at No. 12.

KenPom has Kentucky at No. 22.

The Wildcats now have an opportunity to rattle off a handful of victories to extend their undefeated record, starting with Lipscomb, Jackson State, Western Kentucky and Georgia State before going to Clemson on December 3rd and then to Gonzaga on December 7th.

Kentucky will also have several more games before SEC play begins, but the Clemson Tigers and Gonzaga Bulldogs will be a nice way to evaluate just how good the Wildcats are in a few weeks.

Check back here throughout the day for updates on where Kentucky stands in the official rankings!