Kentucky just outside the top 10 in first Coaches Poll

The first edition of the 2021-22 Coaches Top 25 Poll has been released. The Kentucky Wildcats will begin the new season ranked 11th overall after being ranked 10th in the first AP Top 25 Poll.

Kentucky’s first opponent, the Duke Blue Devils, checked in at ninth overall in what will be Coach K’s final season. Duke was also ninth in the AP Poll.

In the SEC, Alabama (13), Arkansas (15), Tennessee (17) and Auburn (22) also made the first Coaches Poll.

Gonzaga, UCLA, Kansas, Villanova and Texas make up the top five. Kentucky will have a road game at Kansas for the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

The only other team currently ranked Kentucky faces will be Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes were actually tied with Tennessee for the 17th spot in the first poll.

Kentucky has rarely been in this range to begin a season under John Calipari, but after the last year, you can’t blame anyone for wanting to see what these Wildcats can do before believing what they will accomplish.

College Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll

1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

2 UCLA Bruins

3 Kansas Jayhawks

4 Villanova Wildcats

5 Texas Longhorns

6 Michigan Wolverines

7 Purdue Boilermakers

8 Baylor Bears

9 Duke Blue Devils

10 Illinois Fighting Illini

11 Kentucky Wildcats

12 Oregon Ducks

13 Alabama Crimson Tide

14 Houston Cougars

15 Arkansas Razorbacks

16 Memphis Tigers

17* Tennessee Volunteers

17* Ohio State Buckeyes

19 Florida State Seminoles

20 North Carolina Tar Heels

21 Maryland Terrapins

22 Auburn Tigers

23 UConn Huskies

24 St. Bonaventure Bonnies

25 Virginia Cavaliers

Others receiving votes: Michigan State 55; Texas Tech 46; Southern California 38; West Virginia 18; Indiana 13; Virginia Tech 9; Loyola-Chicago 9; Oklahoma State 8; Arizona 8; Creighton 7; Syracuse 6; Colorado St. 5; Drake 4; Richmond 3; Notre Dame 3; Iowa 3; Rutgers 2; Louisiana State 2; Colorado 2; Xavier 1; Nevada 1; Butler 1; Boise St. 1.