After a road win at Florida and an absolute domination of Auburn in Rupp Arena, Kentucky is back in the AP Top 25. The Cats are No. 23 in the latest AP Poll, just ahead of fellow SEC team Texas A&M.
Kentucky received 12 votes in last week’s poll. It’s the first time this calendar year the Cats have been ranked. They were No. 19 in the Week 8 poll on Dec. 26, but dropped out following the loss to Missouri.
The top five of the AP Poll is the same as last week: 1. Houston, 2. Alabama, 3. Kansas, 4. UCLA, and 5. Purdue. Tennessee is down one spot to No. 12. Kentucky and Texas A&M are the only other SEC teams ranked. Missouri and Arkansas both received votes. The Cats play the Razorbacks Saturday in Fayetteville.
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  (49) | 27-2 | 1531 |
| 2 |  (5) | 25-4 | 1456 |
| 3 |  (8) | 24-5 | 1445 |
| 4 |  | 25-4 | 1391 |
| 5 |  | 24-5 | 1200 |
| 6 |  | 23-6 | 1173 |
| 7 |  | 21-8 | 1099 |
| 8 |  | 24-5 | 1091 |
| 9 |  | 22-7 | 1077 |
| 10 |  | 25-5 | 1026 |
| 11 |  | 22-7 | 1002 |
| 12 |  | 21-8 | 736 |
| 13 |  | 21-6 | 718 |
| 14 |  | 22-7 | 714 |
| 15 |  | 20-9 | 697 |
| 16 |  | 23-6 | 668 |
| 17 |  | 25-6 | 592 |
| 18 |  | 23-5 | 552 |
| 19 |  | 21-8 | 505 |
| 20 |  | 21-8 | 299 |
| 21 |  | 20-9 | 184 |
| 22 |  | 19-10 | 173 |
| 23 |  | 20-9 | 162 |
| 24 |  | 21-8 | 161 |
| 25 |  | 21-8 | 140 |
Others receiving votes: Creighton 87, Duke 78, Oral Roberts 40, Northwestern 39, Florida Atlantic 25, Iowa State 20, Nevada 17, Missouri 16, Arkansas 7, Charleston 6, NC State 6, Clemson 5, Memphis 4, Boise State 3, USC 3, VCU 1, West Virginia 1
Dropped from rankings: Creighton 19, Northwestern 21, Iowa State 23
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (27) | 27-2 | 794 | – |
| 2 | (2) | 25-4 | 752 | – |
| 3 | (3) | 24-5 | 729 | 1 |
| 4 | | 25-4 | 728 | 1 |
| 5 | | 24-5 | 630 | – |
| 6 | | 23-6 | 626 | 3 |
| 7 | | 22-7 | 558 | 1 |
| 8 | | 21-8 | 527 | 2 |
| 9 | | 24-5 | 518 | 2 |
| 10 | | 25-5 | 515 | 2 |
| 11 | | 22-7 | 469 | 5 |
| 12 | | 21-6 | 389 | 6 |
| 13 | | 20-9 | 362 | 4 |
| 14 | | 21-8 | 353 | 1 |
| 15 | | 23-6 | 349 | 4 |
| 16 | | 25-6 | 339 | 2 |
| 17 | | 21-8 | 274 | 2 |
| 18 | | 22-7 | 254 | 5 |
| 19 | | 23-5 | 251 | 1 |
| 20 | | 21-8 | 239 | 2 |
| 21 | | 21-8 | 113 | 4 |
| 22 | | 19-10 | 109 | 4 |
| 23 |  | 18-11 | 95 | 4 |
| 24 | | 20-9 | 82 | 2 |
| 25 | | 21-8 | 64 | 1 |
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 52, Kentucky 49, NC State 48, Iowa State 42, Duke 29, Florida Atlantic 26, Oral Roberts 11, USC 9, Nevada 5, Toledo 3, Clemson 3, Kent State 2, Boise State 2
Dropped from rankings: Iowa State 21, Northwestern 22, NC State 24