Kentucky moves up to No. 16 in latest AP, Coaches Polls
Kentucky earned some respect in its heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic — and Reed Sheppard’s emergence certainly hasn’t hurt. The latest AP Poll just dropped and the Wildcats moved up a spot from a week ago to No. 16.
Kentucky also holds firm at No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.
Kansas remains No. 1 in the update, earning 52 of 61 first-place votes, followed by Purdue at No. 2, Arizona at No. 3, Marquette at No. 4 and UConn at No. 5. In fact, the entire top nine remains the same, followed by Miami (FL) sliding in at No. 10.
Eight of Kentucky’s upcoming opponents are ranked in the AP Top 25 this week. Tennessee leads the way in the SEC at No. 7, followed by Texas A&M at No. 12, Alabama at No. 17, Arkansas at No. 20 and Mississippi State at No. 25.
Auburn (28) and South Carolina (3) also received votes.
Tennessee: No. 7
Texas A&M: No. 1
North Carolina: No. 14
Others Receiving Votes: Memphis 149, BYU 138, Illinois 138, San Diego St. 77, UCLA 75, TCU 69, Iowa St. 67, Villanova 44, Auburn 28, Clemson 12, Oklahoma 10, Princeton 10, Michigan 10, Liberty 7, South Carolina 3, Chattanooga 2, Nevada 1, Drake 1, Colorado St. 1.
USA Today Coaches Poll – Nov. 20Schools Dropped Out
No. 14 Arkansas; No. 20 USC; No. 21 Villanova; No. 24 Saint Mary’s;
Others Receiving Votes
Arkansas 83; USC 75; James Madison 60; Villanova 50; TCU 40; Iowa State 35; San Diego State 30; Clemson 30; Auburn 29; BYU 27; Nevada 12; Princeton 11; South Carolina 7; Oregon 2; Liberty 2; Kansas State 2; Florida 2; North Carolina State 1; Iowa 1;
Where Kentucky stands in other national rankings
The national media is also turning the corner on Kentucky, moving into consensus top-15 status among major outlets. Gary Parrish has the Cats listed at No. 14 overall in his latest “Top 25-and-One” rankings at CBS Sports . After having Kentucky “in the waiting room” last week, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello also moved Kentucky up to No. 15 overall in his new Power Rankings .
Kentucky moves up despite losing to Kansas in the Champions Classic. The Wildcats really opened some eyes in the first 25 minutes of that game, showing off exceptional speed and attack-minded guards who could go and get their own shot. They eventually were overmatched by Hunter Dickinson down low and the perimeter shots stopped falling, but John Calipari’s club came out of that game with optimism. And Reed Sheppard (25 points and seven assists vs. Stonehill on Friday) looks like he’s going to be a real factor this season.
Jeff Borzello, ESPNThe biggest jump? Kentucky moved up to No. 10 in The Athletic’s Power Rankings , with CJ Moore continuing to praise John Calipari for his modern offense, one that continues to launch threes and play uptempo while taking care of the basketball.
One perk of John Calipari’s new souped-up, let-the-3s-fly offense is that a very young team is not doing what young teams usually do — turn the ball over. The Wildcats have a 10.6 turnover rate, which is seventh-best in the country. They had only eight turnovers in the loss to Kansas. As long as that ball control lasts, there’s no reason Calipari should abandon this fun-and-gun style this season.
CJ Moore, The AthleticGot thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.
