Where UK stands in new top 25 polls, NET & bracketology

A new week has arrived, and with it comes a roundup of new top-25 polls have Kentucky climbing into the top four.

The Wildcats were going to be an interesting team to rank this week after losing to No. 19 LSU at the buzzer, then beating No. 1 Tennessee in convincing fashion.

The latest AP Top 25 has the Wildcats checking in at No. 4, while Tennessee dropped to No. 5, and Duke is the new No. 1 team. That’s the exact situation in the latest Coaches Top 25 Poll, where the Cats check in at No. 4. LSU is now a top-15 in both polls and are actually No. 13 in the AP Poll.

Coaches 25 Poll

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Gonzaga Bulldogs
3. Virginia Cavaliers
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Nevada Wolf Pack
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. Houston Cougars
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
10. Marquette Golden Eagles
11. Michigan State Spartans
12. Kansas Jayhawks
13. Purdue Boilermakers
14. Texas Tech Red Raiders
15. LSU Tigers
16. Villanova Wildcats
17. Florida State Seminoles
18. Virginia Tech Hokies
19. Iowa Hawkeyes
20. Iowa State Cyclones
21. Kansas State Wildcats
22. Louisville Cardinals
23. Wisconsin Badgers
24. Buffalo Bulls
25. Maryland Terrapins & Cincinnati Bearcats

AP Top 25 Poll

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Gonzaga Bulldogs
3. Virginia Cavaliers
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Nevada Wolf Pack
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. North Carolina Tar Heels
9. Houston Cougars
10. Michigan State Spartans
11. Marquette Golden Eagles
12. Kansas Jayhawks
13. LSU Tigers
14. Texas Tech Red Raiders
15. Purdue Boilermakers
16. Florida State Seminoles
17. Villanova Wildcats
18. Louisville Cardinals
19. Iowa State Cyclones
20. Virginia Tech Hokies
21. Iowa Hawkeyes
22. Wisconsin Badgers
23. Kansas State Wildcats
24. Maryland Terrapins
25. Buffalo Bulls

As for the latest round of bracketology, Kentucky is still projected as a 2 seed, but now, several projections have it being in the South Region with Virginia as the 1 seed, including CBS Sports, USA Today and Brackettville.

Jason Lisk of The Big Lead didn’t do a bracket, but he does project Kentucky to be the final 1 seed in this year’s Big Dance,

If that seeding were to happen on Selection Sunday, Kentucky would have had seven games vs. teams with a top-5 seed, including wins over Louisville, North Carolina, Kansas and Tennessee. Kentucky would also have 13 Quadrant 1 wins, trailing only Duke’s 14. That’s why there’s a very good case to be made that the Wildcats should have a 1 seed if Selection Sunday was today.

The latest NCAA NET ranking has Kentucky coming in at No. 5 while Tennessee drops to 6. But while Houston is at No. 4, the initial bracket reveal suggests that the committee may not even give the Cougars a 2 seed as of now, so Kentucky is in great shape for a 1 seed.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports and The Athletic has Kentucky all the way up to No. 2.

Sports Illustrated also lists Kentucky at No. 4, as Tennessee dropped three spots in their ranking to No. 5.

They also offered this assessment of the WIldcatS=s:

The Wildcats are on the rise despite their loss to LSU given how impressive their win over Tennessee was. Kentucky essentially led wire-to-wire and looked dominant at times against the nation’s No. 1 team. Its defense did a great job on Grant Williams, who attempted a season-low two shots inside the arc, and forced the Vols into taking more threes (25) than they had in a game since Dec. 9.

NBC Sports has the Wildcats rising to the No. 4 spot. Duke is No. 1 there and at SI.

CBS Sports still has Kentucky listed at No. 6, with Michigan at No. 5 and Tennessee dropping to No. 4, and Gonzaga is now their No. 1 team.

The Wildcats are 11-4 vs. top-100 KenPom teams with losses to two sub-50 KenPom teams. UK is 11-1 in its past 12 games heading into Tuesday’s game at Missouri.

The ESPN power rankings have Kentucky climbing to the No. 5 spot, while Duke jumped Tennessee to be No. 1.