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The Kentucky Wildcats are back in the AP Top 25 Poll.
The latest ranking has UK checking in at No. 23 following wins over the Arkansas Razorbacks and Missouri Tigers. The Cats have now won three straight and looked every bit like a top-25 team in the process, so it’s no surprise the AP agreed.
At the top, there’s actually been some consistency in recent weeks, as the Virginia Cavaliers retained the top spot. The Michigan State Spartans remain at No. 2. The Villanova Wildcats and Xavier Musketeers flipped spots after the former lost in overtime at Creighton.
Here is a look at the entire top 25:
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Xavier Musketeers
- Villanova Wildcats
- Duke Blue Devils
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Purdue Boilermakers
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Wichita State Shockers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Auburn Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Rhode Island Rams
- Clemson Tigers
- Arizona Wildcats
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Nevada Wolfpack
- Saint Mary’s Gaels
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
- Houston Cougars
Elsewhere, Kentucky got a slight bump in the latest ESPN Power Rankings.
20. Kentucky Wildcats
Record: 20-9
Last week: 21
That’s now three straight wins for Kentucky, with all three coming against likely NCAA tournament teams and all three coming by double digits. John Calipari is getting mileage out of a smaller lineup that has PJ Washington or Jarred Vanderbilt at center -- and they’re now playing with an edge.
This same ranking has the Florida Gators checking in at No. 23. The two schools have a big matchup on Saturday for not only a higher spot in next week’s poll, but possibly a higher seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.