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The Kentucky Wildcats continue their climb up the polls.
Thanks to double-digit wins over Missouri and Florida last week, the Cats moved up to the No. 9 spot in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. This is the highest Kentucky has been ranked since late January before they suffered back-to-back losses to Kansas and Tennessee.
It helps that teams ranked around Kentucky have continued to lose, including a combined 12 losses by teams ranked inside the top 16 of last week's AP poll.
All of this has put Kentucky in position to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they should earn no lower than a 3 seed as long as they win out. Even one loss between now and the brackets being announced should not drop Kentucky below a 3 seed.
Here is the fully-updated AP Poll:
| 1 |  |
Kansas (58)
Big 12
Record: 26-3
|
PV Rank
3Points
1,618 |
| 2 |  |
Villanova (2)
Big East
Record: 27-3
|
2
1,487
|
| 3 |  |
UCLA (3)
Pac-12
Record: 26-3
|
5
1,474
|
| 4 |  |
Gonzaga (2)
West Coast
Record: 29-1
|
1
1,419
|
| 5 |  |
North Carolina
ACC
Record: 25-5
|
8
1,381
|
| 6 |  |
Oregon
Pac-12
Record: 26-4
|
6
1,343
|
| 7 |  |
Arizona
Pac-12
Record: 26-4
|
4
1,223
|
| 8 |  |
Louisville
ACC
Record: 23-6
|
7
1,176
|
| 9 |  |
Kentucky
SEC
Record: 24-5
|
11
1,119
|
| 10 |  |
West Virginia
Big 12
Record: 23-6
|
12
1,041
|
| 11 |  |
Baylor
Big 12
Record: 23-6
|
9
923
|
| 12 |  |
Florida
SEC
Record: 23-6
|
13
807
|
| 13 |  |
Butler
Big East
Record: 23-6
|
22
795
|
| 14 |  |
SMU
American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Record: 25-4
|
17
738
|
| 15 |  |
Florida State
ACC
Record: 23-6
|
19
722
|
| 16 |  |
Purdue
Big Ten
Record: 23-6
|
14
651
|
| 17 |  |
Duke
ACC
Record: 22-7
|
10
622
|
| 18 |  |
Cincinnati
American Athletic Conference (AAC)
Record: 25-4
|
15
504
|
| 19 |  |
Notre Dame
ACC
Record: 22-7
|
21
482
|
| 20 |  |
Saint Mary's (Cal.)
West Coast
Record: 26-3
|
20
445
|
| 21 |  |
Wichita State
Missouri Valley
Record: 27-4
|
25
250
|
| 22 |  |
Wisconsin
Big Ten
Record: 22-7
|
16
206
|
| 23 |  |
Virginia
ACC
Record: 19-9
|
18
194
|
| 24 |  |
Iowa State
Big 12
Record: 19-9
|
-
168
|
| 25 |  |
Miami (FL)
ACC
Record: 20-8
|
-
123
|
The new Coaches Poll has Kentucky checking in at the No. 9 spot.
TOP 25 TEAMS, WEEK 17
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Kansas | 26-3 | 790 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1/8 |
| 2 | UCLA | 26-3 | 730 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2/20 |
| 2 | Villanova | 27-3 | 730 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1/4 |
| 4 | Gonzaga | 29-1 | 686 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 1/14 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 25-5 | 663 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 3/16 |
| 6 | Oregon | 26-4 | 653 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 4/24 |
| 7 | Louisville | 23-6 | 600 | 0 | 6 | -1 | 4/15 |
| 8 | Arizona | 26-4 | 585 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 4/20 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 24-5 | 578 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1/12 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 23-6 | 478 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 7/19 |
| 11 | Baylor | 23-6 | 461 | 0 | 9 | -2 | 1/NR |
| 12 | Florida | 23-6 | 382 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12/NR |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 22-7 | 334 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 12/NR |
| 14 | Duke | 22-7 | 315 | 0 | 11 | -3 | 1/21 |
| 15 | Butler | 23-6 | 314 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 11/NR |
| 16 | Purdue | 23-6 | 299 | 0 | 14 | -2 | 14/24 |
| 17 | Florida St. | 23-6 | 290 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 8/NR |
| 18 | St. Mary's | 26-3 | 273 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 11/23 |
| 19 | Southern Methodist | 25-4 | 269 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 21/NR |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 25-4 | 210 | 0 | 16 | -4 | 11/NR |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 22-7 | 185 | 0 | 15 | -6 | 5/17 |
| 22 | Wichita St. | 27-4 | 140 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 25/NR |
| 23 | Virginia | 19-9 | 138 | 0 | 19 | -4 | 6/19 |
| 24 | Iowa St. | 19-9 | 57 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 21/NR |
| 25 | Miami-Florida | 20-8 | 48 | 0 | 30 | 5 | – |
The latest CBS Sports Top 25 (and one) poll has Kentucky rising up to the No. 9 spot as well.
1. Kansas
2. Villanova
3. North Carolina
4. Gonzaga
5. UCLA
6. Oregon
7. Arizona
8. Louisville
9. Kentucky
10. Baylor
11. Butler
12. West Virginia
13. Florida State
14. Duke
15. Florida
16. Notre Dame
17. Purdue
18. St. Mary's
19. SMU
20. Cincinnati
21. Iowa State
22. Virginia
23. Oklahoma State
24. Wichita State
25. Minnesota
26. Miami (Fla.)