Kentucky jumps up to No. 4 in latest Coaches Poll
Make that two straight weeks moving up a single spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, jumping from No. 6 to No. 5 last week and now No. 5 to No. 4 this week. All it took was a rivalry win over Louisville inside Rupp Arena for Kentucky — and Marquette to take a loss.
That’s once again good for third in the SEC behind only Tennessee (No. 1) and Auburn (No. 2). Elsewhere, Iowa State (No. 3), Duke (No. 5), Florida (No. 6), Alabama (No. 7), Kansas (No. 8), Marquette (No. 9) and Oregon (No. 10). Texas A&M (No. 11), Oklahoma (No. 15), Ole Miss (No. 16) and Mississippi State (No. 25) make up the other SEC programs in the top 25 with Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri also receiving votes — 12 of 16 teams in the league included in those two categories.
Kentucky has two top-15 wins away from Rupp Arena, plus future opportunities against eight ranked teams and ten overall with home-and-homes vs. Tennessee and Auburn.
RankTeamRecordPTS1stPrevChgHi/Lo1Tennessee10-0765221–1/122Auburn9-174492–2/113Iowa State9-170803–3/74Kentucky10-166405+14/235Duke8-263806+15/106Florida10-061007+16/217Alabama8-260108+12/128Kansas8-2518010+21/109Marquette9-249604-54/1710Oregon10-1454012+210/NR11Texas A&M9-2368018+711/2412Houston6-3363013+14/1813UConn8-3337020+72/NR14Gonzaga7-332809-54/1415Oklahoma10-0308017+215/2116Ole Miss9-1282015-115/NR17Purdue8-3264011-66/1718UCLA9-1263021+318/NR19Michigan State8-2178019–19/NR20Cincinnati8-1146023+314/2321Michigan8-2113014-714/2322Memphis8-21110NR+1015/NR23San Diego State7-2110024+123/NR24Dayton9-2980NR+2024/NR25Mississippi State9-1920NR+125/NR
Schools Dropped Out
No. 16 Clemson; No. 22 Wisconsin; No. 25 Baylor;
Others Receiving Votes
Clemson 87; Baylor 79; Illinois 50; St. John’s 48; Drake 44; Utah State 40; Arkansas 31; Maryland 29; Georgia 23; Wisconsin 22; Pittsburgh 21; Missouri 18; North Carolina 9; West Virginia 5; Creighton 5; Texas Tech 3; Penn State 2
AP College Basketball Poll – December 16
Tennessee (10-0) – 1537 (50)
Auburn (9-1) – 1483 (12)
Iowa State (9-1) – 1416
Kentucky (10-1) – 1325
Duke (8-2) – 1324
Alabama (8-2) – 1210
Florida (10-0) – 1169
Kansas (8-2) – 1056
Marquette (9-2) – 926
Oregon (10-1) – 903
UConn (8-3) – 808
Texas A&M (9-2) – 758
Gonzaga (7-3) – 737
Oklahoma (10-0) – 732
Houston (6-3) – 582
Purdue (8-3) – 498
Ole Miss (9-1) – 459
UCLA (9-1) – 436
Cincinnati (8-1) – 325
Michigan State (8-2) – 322
Memphis (8-2) – 287
Dayton (9-2) – 281
San Diego State (7-2) – 250
Michigan (8-2) – 209
Clemson (9-2) – 175
Others Receiving Votes: Mississippi St. 158, Arkansas 151, Missouri 120, Baylor 115, Illinois 70, Drake 52, St. John’s 50, Utah St. 48, Pittsburgh 28, Maryland 24, West Virginia 19, Wisconsin 18, Georgia 18, Oklahoma St. 16, Arizona St 14, Creighton 12, North Carolina 9, Penn St. 8, Indiana 7, Texas 3, St. Bonaventure 2.
Kentucky in other National Rankings
ESPN: No. 4
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 4
Jon Rothstein: No. 4
Andy Katz: No. 4
John Fanta: No. 4
Jeff Goodman: No. 4
The Athletic: No. 6
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