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The Kentucky Wildcats are climbing back up in the latest round of top-25 polls.
After a brutal stretch of games between December and February that saw UK go 9-6, the Cats have reeled off three straight in impressive fashion over three NCAA Tournament contending teams. Beating Georgia, Florida and South Carolina by an average of 26.7 points, highlighted by a 27-point win at previously-ranked Carolina, showed everyone that these Wildcats are a force to be reckoned with when they're clicking.
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That's why UK is up to No. 14 in the latest Coaches Poll, a rise of seven spots from last week when the Cats nearly fell out of the top 25.
As for the top spots, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks are back in the top five, while the Villanova Wildcats are still on top.
Here's the latest USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll:
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Villanova (25) | 22-3 | 785 |
| 2 | Kansas (7) | 21-4 | 764 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 20-4 | 680 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 21-4 | 674 |
| 5 | Maryland | 22-4 | 636 |
| 6 | Iowa | 20-5 | 624 |
| 7 | Xavier | 22-3 | 615 |
| 8 | Virginia | 20-5 | 579 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 21-5 | 560 |
| 10 | Miami (FL) | 20-4 | 558 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 20-5 | 488 |
| 12 | Arizona | 21-5 | 425 |
| 13 | Dayton | 21-3 | 382 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 19-6 | 346 |
| 15 | Iowa State | 18-7 | 319 |
| 16 | Purdue | 20-6 | 298 |
| 17 | Oregon | 20-6 | 259 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 18-7 | 203 |
| 19 | Duke | 19-6 | 183 |
| 20 | Providence | 19-7 | 161 |
| 21 | Indiana | 20-6 | 154 |
| 22 | Baylor | 18-7 | 109 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 21-4 | 108 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 18-7 | 106 |
| 25 | Texas | 16-9 | 73 |
Here is the new AP Poll, which also has UK coming in at No. 14.
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Villanova (44) | 22-3 | 1,601 |
| 2 | Kansas (21) | 21-4 | 1,578 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 20-4 | 1,471 |
| 4 | Iowa | 20-5 | 1,349 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 21-4 | 1,343 |
| 6 | Maryland | 22-4 | 1,248 |
| 7 | Virginia | 20-5 | 1,188 |
| 8 | Xavier | 22-3 | 1,174 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 21-5 | 1,174 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 20-5 | 1,094 |
| 11 | Miami (FL) | 20-4 | 1,036 |
| 12 | Arizona | 21-5 | 823 |
| 13 | Iowa State | 18-7 | 742 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 19-6 | 692 |
| 15 | Dayton | 21-3 | 681 |
| 16 | Oregon | 20-6 | 529 |
| 17 | Purdue | 20-6 | 497 |
| 18 | Louisville | 19-6 | 494 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 18-7 | 489 |
| 20 | Duke | 19-6 | 462 |
| 21 | SMU | 21-3 | 441 |
| 22 | Indiana | 20-6 | 232 |
| 23 | Providence | 19-7 | 125 |
| 24 | Texas | 16-9 | 123 |
| 25 | Baylor | 18-7 | 97 |
The latest CBS Sports Top 25 (and one) poll has UK coming in at No. 19 after not making the list for much of the past three weeks.
The Wildcats now have five top-50 RPI wins to help offset a resume that also features five losses to schools ranked outside of the top 70 of the RPI. UK owns double-digit road wins at South Carolina and Alabama.
Here's the full CBS Poll:
| 1 Kansas |
| 2 Oklahoma |
| 3 Villanova |
| 4 Iowa |
| 5 West Virginia |
| 6 Virginia |
| 7 Maryland |
| 8 North Carolina |
| 9 Michigan State |
| 10 Xavier |
| 11 Iowa State |
| 12 Miami (Fla.) |
| 13 Notre Dame |
| 14 Louisville |
| 15 Purdue |
| 16 Dayton |
| 17 Oregon |
| 18 Texas |
| 19 Kentucky |
| 20 Duke |
| 21 Utah |
| 22 Arizona |
| 23 SMU |
| 24 Indiana |
| 25 Southern California |
| 26 Baylor |