Where UK stands in new college hoops top 25 polls and power rankings

After going 2-0 last week, the Kentucky Wildcats are holding steady in the latest college basketball rankings.

Kentucky looked impressive in their 96-58 win over North Dakota on Wednesday, then struggled a bit to pull away from VMI in Sunday’s 92-82 win.

That led to Kentucky not moving much in any of this week’s rankings. The latest AP Top 25 Poll has Kentucky checking in at the No. 10 spot again. While Villanova fell past Kentucky after losing two games last week, Michigan has soared into the top 10 by way of the No. 9 spot.

College Basketball AP Top 25 Poll

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs
4. Virginia Cavaliers
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Nevada Wolf Pack
7. North Carolina Tar Heels
8. Auburn Tigers
9. Michigan Wolverines
10. Kentucky Wildcats
11. Michigan State Spartans
12. Kansas State Wildcats
13. Virginia Tech Hokies
14. Florida State Seminoles
15. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
16. Clemson Tigers
17. UCLA Bruins
18. TCU Horned Frogs
19. LSU Tigers
20. Iowa Hawkeyes
21. Oregon Ducks
22. Buffalo Bulls
23. Ohio State Buckeyes
24. Purdue Boilermakers
25. Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA.com has Kentucky checking in at No. 12 in their latest Power 36 rankings.

The Wildcats didn’t move since they didn’t play a high-level game since the opening loss to Duke. But that’s OK. The Wildcats have time to get their act together — especially defensively — before the gauntlet of their non-conference season starts later in December.

ESPN dropped Kentucky down to the No. 11 spot after struggling to beat a VMI team that got destroyed by Pittsburgh.

VMI has now played two high-major programs this season: Pitt and Kentucky. They scored 55 points against Pitt -- and 82 against Kentucky. The Wildcats allowed VMI to make 19 3-pointers and now rank near the bottom of Division-I in 3-point percentage defense.

CBS Sports moved Kentucky up to the No. 9 spot:

Reid Travis finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Sunday’s win over VMI. The Wildcats have won three straight since losing to Duke

Sports Illustrated has Kentucky ranked No. 10 in their latest rankings.

All in all, Kentucky’s average ranking is just a shade over 10, which frankly, is right where they should be right now. There aren’t 10 teams in college basketball with more upside than them, but they’ve not been able to put it all together yet, at least against a quality opponent.

Don’t expect Kentucky to move much until they play Seton Hall and Utah in early December, and that’s just perfectly fine for this team.