College Basketball 2017: AP Top 25 Poll and ESPN Power Rankings Update

The Kentucky Wildcats are falling in the latest college hoops AP Top 25 Poll.

After rising one spot last week, there was very little shakeup this week. The only top-10 team to go down was No. 5 Notre Dame, who got shellacked by No. 2 Michigan State.

But while one would think UK would rise or stand pat in this scenario, they actually fell one spot to No. 8. Passing them were Wichita State and Texas A&M. It’s fair to think both teams are better than UK right now, but the Cats don’t deserve to fall if they keep winning.

Then again, UK should have never been a top-five team to begin with when the season began, so it feels like the Cats are right around where they should be.

Here is a look at the entire AP Poll:

1. Duke Blue Devils (65 first-place votes)
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Michigan State Spartans
4. Villanova Wildcats
5. Florida Gators
6. Wichita State Shockers
7. Texas A&M Aggies
8. Kentucky Wildcats
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10. Miami-Florida Hurricanes
11. North Carolina Tar Heels
12. Gonzaga Bulldogs
13. Xavier Musketeers
14. Minnesota Golden Gophers
15. Virginia Cavaliers
16. Arizona State Sun Devils
17. Cincinnati Bearcats
18. West Virginia Mountaineers
19. Seton Hall Pirates
20. TCU Horned Frogs
21. Purdue Boilermakers
22. Nevada Wolfpack
23. Baylor Bears
24. Alabama Crimson Tide
25. USC Trojans

Elsewhere, the new ESPN power rankings are giving very little love to UK, at least in comparison to the polls. While UK is checking in around the top five in most major polls, ESPN thinks these Cats aren’t even a top-10 team.

11. Kentucky Wildcats

Record: 7-1

Last week: 11

We still haven't really seen what John Calipari has in his team, since its best win following the loss to Kansas is against Harvard ... or Troy ... or East Tennessee State. In other words, we're still waiting. That should change after this week, with Kentucky facing Virginia Tech, UCLA and Louisville in three straight games.

Here is the entire ESPN power ranking:

1. Duke Blue Devils

2. Kansas Jayhawks

3. Michigan State Spartans

4. Villanova Wildcats

5. Texas A&M Aggies

6. Florida Gators

7. Miami Hurricanes

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

9. Wichita State Shockers

10. North Carolina Tar Heels

11. Kentucky Wildcats

12. Gonzaga Bulldogs

13. Arizona State Sun Devils

14. Xavier Musketeers

15. Virginia Cavaliers

16. Minnesota Golden Gophers

17. Seton Hall Pirates

18. Cincinnati Bearcats

19. TCU Horned Frogs

20. Purdue Boilermakers

21. Nevada Wolf Pack

22. West Virginia Mountaineers

23. Rhode Island Rams

24. Tennessee Volunteers

25. Baylor Bears