Kentucky falls out of the AP and Coaches Polls after Gonzaga loss

Kentucky is no longer a ranked basketball team. The good news? Neither is Indiana, Saturday’s opponent in Rupp Arena, a must-win game for Mark Pope’s squad.

This marks the first time since January 2, 2023, that Kentucky hasn’t been in the Top 25 of the AP Poll. That was after Oscar Tshiebwe’s second Kentucky team lost at Missouri by 14 points to start SEC play. Indiana dropped out of the rankings, too, after losses to Minnesota and Louisville. This year’s team started the season No. 9 in the AP Poll and has fallen almost every week. Last week, the Cats were No. 18. Back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Gonzaga were enough for Kentucky to fall out of both Top 25s completely.

Both teams received votes. Kentucky had 29 points in the AP Poll (No. 32) and 14 points in the Coaches Poll (No. 33). Indiana isn’t far away, with 18 points in the AP Poll (No. 34) and 16 points in the Coaches Poll (No. 32).

Arizona is the new No. 1 team in the AP Poll, followed by Michigan, Duke, Iowa State, and UConn. Six SEC teams are ranked: Alabama (No. 12), Vanderbilt (No. 15), Arkansas (No. 17), Florida (No. 18), Tennessee No. 20), and Auburn (No. 21). St. John’s, next week’s opponent in the CBS Sports Classic, is No. 22. Gonzaga jumped three spots to No. 8 in the AP Poll after beating Kentucky by 35 on Friday. North Carolina is up two spots to No. 14.

You’d be hard-pressed to find Kentucky in any top 25 right now. The Field of 68 staff dropped the Cats from their rankings, as did CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone and Gary Parrish, and The Athletic’s CJ Moore. Jon Rothstein has Kentucky at No. 32, down from No. 21 a week ago. Andy Katz doesn’t have Kentucky in his Power 37 rankings. Can’t blame them.

AP Poll – Dec. 8

Rank	Team	Record / Conference	Trend	Points
1	Arizona	8-0 • Big 12	+1	1461 (33)
2	Michigan	8-0 • Big Ten	+1	1440 (19)
3	Duke	10-0 • ACC	+1	1400 (7)
4	Iowa State	9-0 • Big 12	+6	1304 (1)
5	UConn	8-1 • Big East	–	1263
6	Purdue	8-1 • Big Ten	−5	1173
7	Houston	8-1 • Big 12	+1	1064
8	Gonzaga	9-1 • WCC	+3	1054
9	Michigan State	8-1 • Big Ten	−2	1017
10	BYU	7-1 • Big 12	−1	1007
11	Louisville	8-1 • ACC	−5	877
12	Alabama	7-2 • SEC	–	854
13	Illinois	7-2 • Big Ten	+1	771
14	North Carolina	8-1 • ACC	+2	724
15	Vanderbilt	9-0 • SEC	+2	686
16	Texas Tech	7-2 • Big 12	+3	508
17	Arkansas	7-2 • SEC	+8	488
18	Florida	5-3 • SEC	−3	422
19	Kansas	7-3 • Big 12	+2	380
20	Tennessee	7-3 • SEC	−7	286
21	Auburn	7-3 • SEC	−1	264
22	St. John’s	5-3 • Big East	+1	254
23	Nebraska	9-0 • Big Ten	–	180
24	Virginia	8-1 • ACC	–	130
25	UCLA	7-2 • Big Ten	–	79

Others Receiving Votes: Iowa 60, Oklahoma St. 54, Southern Cal 50, Georgia 49, Saint Mary’s 38, Seton Hall 31, Kentucky 29, Wisconsin 24, Indiana 18, Clemson 14, LSU 14, Villanova 9, California 6, Notre Dame 4, Miami 4, SMU 3, TCU 2, Arizona St 2, Miami (Ohio) 2, St. Bonaventure 1.

USA Today Coaches Poll – Dec. 8

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	Chg
1	Michigan	8-0	755 (17)	+1
2	Arizona	8-0	742 (11)	+1
3	Duke	10-0	723 (2)	+1
4	Iowa State	9-0	651 (1)	+5
5	UConn	8-1	628	–
6	Purdue	8-1	617	-5
7	Gonzaga	9-1	565	+4
8	Houston	8-1	547	-1
9	Michigan State	8-1	517	-1
10	BYU	7-1	507	–
11	Louisville	8-1	456	-5
12	Alabama	7-2	436	–
13	Illinois	7-2	371	+2
14	Vanderbilt	9-0	365	+2
15	North Carolina	8-1	341	+2
16	Texas Tech	7-2	277	+3
17	Arkansas	7-2	245	+6
18	Florida	5-3	213	-4
19	Kansas	7-3	208	+2
20	Tennessee	7-3	170	-7
21	St. John’s	5-3	138	+1
22	Nebraska	9-0	114	+6
23	Iowa	8-1	77	+2
24	Auburn	7-3	76	–
25	Virginia	8-1	67	+8

Schools Dropped Out: No. 18 Kentucky; No. 19 Indiana

Others Receiving Votes: Saint Mary’s 52; UCLA 35; Oklahoma State 33; Wisconsin 32; USC 20; Seton Hall 16; Indiana 16; Kentucky 14; SMU 11; Missouri 7; Clemson 7; Ohio State 6; Georgia 5; Miami (FL) 4; LSU 4; Utah State 3; Yale 2; California 1; Baylor 1