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The Kentucky Wildcats are on a roll.
After a slow start to conference play, Kentucky is 5-1 in the SEC with their only loss coming on the road to an Alabama Crimson Tide team that took Tennessee to the wire in Knoxville last weekend.
The Wildcats’ latest victory was a 21-point drubbing of the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Rupp Arena. Kentucky was great in all phases of the game even if, at times, the game felt closer than the final score indicated. The Cats now have back-to-back victories over ranked opponents and are starting to look like the team everyone thought they would be coming into this season.
And the rankings are starting to take notice.
Kentucky has now cracked the top 10 in the AP Poll, the Coaches’ Poll, and now, following the win over Mississippi State, the KenPom rankings.
The Wildcats have been hanging out in the second tier for most of the season, but the most recent KenPom numbers have the Wildcats sitting at No. 8 just three spots behind the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers.
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Kentucky also sits one spot ahead of their next opponent, the Kansas Jayhawks.
When it comes to college hoops analytics, KenPom is one of, if not the best ranking to use. For most of the season, however, Kentucky was in that 14-18 range after getting off to a slow start
But the Wildcats are now 15-3 (5-1 in the SEC) overall and have won their last five games, two of which being over top-25 teams. They now seem to be coming into form, and it couldn’t come at a better time.