Kentucky is No. 18 in both polls ahead of North Carolina, Gonzaga games
After a 50-point win over Tennessee Tech, Kentucky didn’t move much in the polls this week. The Cats are up one spot to No. 18 in the new AP Poll. They’re also No. 18 in the new Coaches Poll, the same as last week.
Tomorrow, Kentucky will face No. 16/17 North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and on Friday, No. 11/11 Gonzaga in Nashville. The Tar Heels are coming off their first loss of the season, to Michigan State 74-58 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic. The Spartans, of course, beat the Cats in the Champions Classic a few weeks ago. They’re up to No. 7 in the AP Poll. North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson, who picked the Tar Heels over the Cats, had 18 points and 7 rebounds in the loss. He’s scored in double figures in every game this season and pulled down 12+ rebounds in four of seven.
Gonzaga is also coming off its first loss, a 40-point shellacking by Michigan, now No. 3 in the country, in the Players Era Championship. The Bulldogs have looked stellar in every other game, beating Alabama by 10 earlier in the week. They’re off until Friday’s game in Nashville, the fourth game in a six-year series between the two programs. Kentucky came from behind to win last year’s game in Seattle, but Gonzaga won the two prior.
Purdue is still the No. 1 team in both polls, but Michigan’s on the rise, jumping four spots to No. 3 in the AP Poll behind Arizona. There are seven SEC teams in the Top 25, but none in the top ten. Alabama is the highest-ranked at No. 12, followed by Tennessee (No. 13), Florida (No. 15), Vanderbilt (No. 17), and Kentucky (No. 18). The ‘Dores rose seven spots in this week’s AP Poll. They’re a perfect 8-0 on the season so far.
Check it out below.
AP Top 25 – Dec. 1
| Rank | Team | Record / Conference | Trend | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | 7-0, Big Ten | – | 1494 (40) |
| 2 | Arizona | 7-0, Big 12 | – | 1442 (6) |
| 3 | Michigan | 7-0, Big Ten | ↑4 | 1417 (15) |
| 4 | Duke | 8-0, ACC | – | 1355 (0) |
| 5 | UConn | 6-1, Big East | – | 1244 (0) |
| 6 | Louisville | 7-0, ACC | – | 1177 (0) |
| 7 | Michigan State | 7-0, Big Ten | ↑4 | 1095 (0) |
| 8 | Houston | 7-1, Big 12 | ↓5 | 1070 (0) |
| 9 | BYU | 6-1, Big 12 | – | 1037 (0) |
| 10 | Iowa State | 7-0, Big 12 | ↑5 | 975 (0) |
| 11 | Gonzaga | 7-1, WCC | ↑1 | 934 (0) |
| 12 | Alabama | 5-2, SEC | ↓4 | 869 (0) |
| 13 | Tennessee | 7-1, SEC | ↑4 | 771 (0) |
| 14 | Illinois | 6-2, Big Ten | ↓1 | 657 (0) |
| 15 | Florida | 5-2, SEC | ↓5 | 568 (0) |
| 16 | North Carolina | 6-1, ACC | – | 519 (0) |
| 17 | Vanderbilt | 8-0, SEC | ↑7 | 475 (0) |
| 18 | Kentucky | 5-2, SEC | ↑1 | 451 (0) |
| 19 | Texas Tech | 6-2, Big 12 | ↑1 | 387 (0) |
| 20 | Auburn | 6-2, SEC | ↑1 | 376 (0) |
| 21 | Kansas | 6-2, Big 12 | – | 340 (0) |
| 22 | Indiana | 7-0, Big Ten | ↑3 | 313 (0) |
| 23 | St. John’s | 4-3, Big East | ↓9 | 200 (0) |
| 24 | USC | 7-0, Big Ten | – | 145 (0) |
| 25 | Arkansas | 5-2, SEC | ↓3 | 127 (0) |
Others Receiving Votes: Iowa 100, UCLA 59, Nebraska 53, TCU 36, Missouri 28, Utah St. 16, Saint Mary’s 15, Baylor 13, Oklahoma St. 12, SMU 12, Clemson 11, LSU 7, Seton Hall 6, Wisconsin 6, NC State 5, Wake Forest 3, California 2, Colorado 1, George Mason 1, Buffalo 1
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USA Today Coaches Poll – Dec. 1
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS (1st) | Chg |
| 1 | Purdue | 7-0 | 762 (21) | – |
| 2 | Michigan | 7-0 | 721 (6) | +4 |
| 3 | Arizona | 7-0 | 709 (3) | – |
| 4 | Duke | 8-0 | 696 (1) | – |
| 5 | UConn | 6-1 | 608 | +2 |
| 6 | Louisville | 7-0 | 600 | -1 |
| 7 | Houston | 7-1 | 588 | -5 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 7-0 | 531 | +4 |
| 9 | Iowa State | 7-0 | 502 | +4 |
| 10 | BYU | 6-1 | 493 | +1 |
| 11 | Gonzaga | 7-1 | 480 | -1 |
| 12 | Alabama | 5-2 | 428 | -3 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 7-1 | 377 | +3 |
| 14 | Florida | 5-2 | 313 | -6 |
| 15 | Illinois | 6-2 | 312 | -1 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 8-0 | 268 | +7 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 6-1 | 230 | – |
| 18 | Kentucky | 5-2 | 222 | – |
| 19 | Texas Tech | 6-2 | 192 | +1 |
| 19 | Indiana | 7-0 | 192 | +5 |
| 21 | Kansas | 6-2 | 154 | +10 |
| 22 | St. John’s | 4-3 | 129 | -7 |
| 23 | Arkansas | 5-2 | 119 | -2 |
| 24 | Auburn | 6-2 | 104 | +1 |
| 25 | Iowa | 7-0 | 69 | 13 |
Schools Dropped Out: No. 19 UCLA; No. 22 North Carolina State;
Others Receiving Votes: USC 56; UCLA 33; Nebraska 31; Missouri 28; Saint Mary’s 20; Baylor 19; North Carolina State 16; Virginia 14; LSU 14; Clemson 9; Butler 9; Ole Miss 8; TCU 5; Wisconsin 4; Utah State 4; SMU 4; Oklahoma State 1; Colorado 1;
Kentucky No. 15 in the NET Rankings
If you missed it this morning, Kentucky is No. 15 in the first NET Rankings of the season. It will take the NET a bit to stabilize, but that’s pretty favorable. North Carolina is No. 26 in the NET, while Gonzaga is No. 5. As you probably know, both of those games will be Quad 1 games for the Cats.
Kentucky’s got a big chance to get some momentum rolling this week, starting tomorrow night at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky in other National Rankings
- KenPom: No. 11
- NET: No. 15
- BartTorvik: No. 18
- CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone: No. 18
- CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish: No. 18
- The Athletic’s CJ Moore: No. 21
- Jon Rothstein: No. 21
- Field of 68: No. 25
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