Kentucky drops in new AP Poll; Kansas still No. 1

It’ll be No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 17 Kentucky tomorrow night in Chicago. The new AP Poll just dropped and the Cats fell one spot from the preseason rankings that came out in mid-October. The Jayhawks remained in the top spot, earning 51 of the 61 first-place votes. Kansas is No. 1 in the new Coaches Poll as well, while the Cats stayed at No. 16.

Eight of Kentucky’s opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25 this week. Tennessee leads the way in the SEC, jumping two spots to No. 7. Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Alabama are also ranked, with Mississippi State and Auburn also receiving votes.

• Kansas: No. 1
• Tennessee: No. 7
• Gonzaga: No. 11
• Miami: No. 12
• Texas A&M: No. 13
• Arkansas: No. 14
• North Carolina: No. 20
• Alabama: No. 22

AP College Basketball Poll – Nov. 13

Others Receiving Votes: Memphis 53, Virginia 49, St. John’s 47, UCLA 36, TCU 34, San Diego St. 33, BYU 32, Saint Mary’s 20, Mississippi St. 19, Iowa St. 10, Wisconsin 6, Auburn 5, Michigan 2, Weber St. 2, Drake 1, Boise St. 1, Clemson 1.

USA Today Coaches Poll – Nov. 13

Schools Dropped Out: No. 15 San Diego State

Others Receiving Votes: Colorado 46; Memphis 40; San Diego State 35; Michigan 25; James Madison 25; TCU 19; Mississippi State 17; Iowa State 16; Xavier 13; BYU 6; Auburn 6; St. John’s 5; Princeton 4; Clemson 4; Wisconsin 3; Oregon 2; North Carolina State 1; Iowa 1; Boise State 1;

Follow @KSRonX, KSR’s official Twitter/X account, for all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news, videos, and content.

Where Kentucky stands in other national rankings

The national media also has Kentucky on the cusp of the Top 15. Gary Parrish has the Cats No. 16 in his latest “Top 25-and-One” rankings at CBS Sports. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello dropped Kentucky out of his Power Rankings (which only include 16 teams) but has the Cats atop the list of teams “in the waiting room.”

The Wildcats drop out of the Power Rankings through no fault of their own (Baylor Bears simply had to move up). Early returns on the D.J. Wagner-Rob Dillingham backcourt are positive. They combined for 30 points, seven assists and one turnover in the opener and 23 points, seven assists and two turnovers against Texas A&M-Commerce.

Jeff Borzello, ESPN

Kentucky is No. 15 in The Athletic’s Power Rankings, with CJ Moore praising John Calipari for adapting to “modern” basketball with his three seven-footers out.

John Calipari is playing through his center? And shooting a ton of 3s? With real spacing and cutting? This is very un-Kentucky-era-Calipari-like. We shall call this team the Modern Cats.

The 3-point rate tells the story. They are shooting a 3 on 39.4 percent of their attempts. Cal had some 3-point-happy Memphis teams, but his highest 3-point rate at Kentucky was 32.4 in 2011. His last two teams ranked 351 and 330 in 3-point rate. Could it be the John Welch effect? If so, that could be his smartest hire in years.

CJ Moore, The Athletice

Kansas is the No. 1 team in Parrish and Borzello’s rankings, but Moore gave Tennessee the top spot after the Vols’ win on the road at Wisconsin. We’ll get to see how Kentucky fares against both squads this season, starting with the Jayhawks tomorrow in Chicago.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.