Kentucky falls back out of the AP Top 25 after Florida loss

And just like that, Kentucky is out of the AP Top 25. After climbing in after a 10-week absence last Monday, the Cats tumbled back out after the loss to Florida.

With 15 points, Kentucky is fifth among the group of “others receiving votes” behind Clemson, Utah State, Tennessee, and Villanova. Alabama, which was the first team outside the Top 25 last week, took the Cats’ spot at No. 25. The Cats were not in the Top 25 of the Coaches Poll last week, so it’s no surprise that they’re not this week, either. Kentucky is sixth among the group of others receiving votes in the Coaches Poll, which puts them at No. 31.

Florida moved up two spots in the AP Poll to No. 12 with the win over the Cats. Also ranked from the SEC: No. 19 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Arkansas, and No. 25 Alabama. Michigan is the new No. 1 team in both polls, claiming the top spot from Arizona, which lost to Texas Tech and fell to No. 4. Houston is No. 2, Duke No. 3, and UConn No. 5.

At least one national media member still believes Kentucky is a Top 25 team — Top 15, even. Andy Katz has the Cats at No. 14 in his Power Rankings. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello moved Kentucky up to No. 23 in his Power Rankings on Friday, one day before the Florida game. The Cats are No. 27 in Jon Rothstein‘s rankings. The Athletic’s CJ Moore still has them in the group of teams he’s “keeping an eye on” outside of the Top 25, along with Utah State, Villanova, Clemson, and Miami (FL). Kentucky did not make the cut in Gary Parrish’s or The Field of 68’s new Top 25s.

Kentucky is No. 28 in the NET Rankings, the ones that really matter this time of year. The Cats are No. 23 in EvanMiya, No. 27 in KenPom, and No. 40 in BartTorvik. Bart really hates Kentucky’s inconsistency.

AP Poll – Feb. 16

Rank	Team	Record	Conference	Trend	Points
1	Michigan	24-1	Big Ten	+1	1524 (60)
2	Houston	23-2	Big 12	+1	1402 (1)
3	Duke	23-2	ACC	+1	1397 (0)
4	Arizona	23-2	Big 12	-3	1358 (0)
5	UConn	24-2	Big East	+1	1318 (0)
6	Iowa State	22-3	Big 12	-1	1212 (0)
7	Purdue	21-4	Big Ten	+6	1042 (0)
8	Kansas	19-6	Big 12	+1	1011 (0)
9	Nebraska	22-3	Big Ten	-2	982 (0)
10	Illinois	21-5	Big Ten	-2	938 (0)
11	Gonzaga	25-2	WCC	+1	903 (0)
12	Florida	19-6	SEC	+2	895 (0)
13	Texas Tech	19-6	Big 12	+3	822 (0)
14	Virginia	22-3	ACC	+1	730 (0)
15	Michigan State	20-5	Big Ten	-5	681 (0)
16	North Carolina	20-5	ACC	-5	594 (0)
17	St. John’s	20-5	Big East	—	590 (0)
18	Saint Louis	24-1	A-10	—	468 (0)
19	Vanderbilt	21-4	SEC	—	449 (0)
20	Arkansas	19-6	SEC	+1	387 (0)
21	Louisville	19-6	ACC	+3	263 (0)
22	Miami (OH)	25-0	MAC	+1	238 (0)
23	BYU	19-6	Big 12	-1	214 (0)
24	Wisconsin	18-7	Big Ten	—	109 (0)
25	Alabama	18-7	SEC	—	104 (0)

Others receiving votes: Clemson 55, Utah St. 45, Tennessee 36, Villanova 29, Kentucky 15, Miami 10, Saint Mary’s 3, VCU 1.

Coaches Poll – Feb. 16

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	Chg
1	Michigan	24-1	775 (31)	+1
2	Houston	23-2	719	+1
3	Duke	23-2	695	+3
4	Arizona	23-2	670	-3
5	UConn	24-2	663	–
6	Iowa State	22-3	624	-2
7	Purdue	21-4	542	+5
8	Gonzaga	25-2	500	+3
9	Nebraska	22-3	497	-1
10	Illinois	21-5	491	-3
11	Florida	19-6	471	+3
12	Kansas	19-6	445	-3
13	Texas Tech	19-6	423	+3
14	Virginia	22-3	388	+1
15	Michigan State	20-5	349	-5
16	St. John’s	20-5	315	+1
17	Arkansas	19-6	247	+4
18	Vanderbilt	21-4	244	+2
19	Saint Louis	24-1	233	–
20	North Carolina	20-5	200	-7
21	Louisville	19-6	159	+2
22	BYU	19-6	114	–
23	Miami (OH)	25-0	90	+1
24	Clemson	20-6	68	-6
25	Wisconsin	18-7	36	–

Schools Dropped Out: No. 25 Iowa

Others Receiving Votes: Alabama 32; Villanova 30; Utah State 20; Tennessee 19; Iowa 7; Kentucky 6; Saint Mary’s 2; Miami (FL) 1