College basketball rankings roundup for Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats finished this past week with a 1-1 record after a tough road loss to the LSU Tigers, a game where the Cats lost both primary ball-handlers in Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington.

On Saturday, Washington was able to return, but Wheeler remained out. Despite his absence, the Cats were able to roll the Georgia Bulldogs in a 92-77 win.

As the main point guard, Washington went on to break John Wall’s single-game assist record (16), as he dished out 17 dimes in the win.

There were a lot of teams in the top 25 that ended up losing at some point this week, so the Cats didn’t drop much, now sitting at No. 18 in the AP Poll.

The Cats did fall more in the Coaches Poll, dropping four spots and now sit at No. 17.

Baylor is still the No. 1 overall team, followed by Gonzaga, UCLA and Auburn in both top 25 polls.

Over the next four Saturdays, Kentucky will play four top 25 teams: Tennessee this week, at Auburn next week, at Kansas the following week, then at Alabama on February 5th.

Ready or not, we’re about to see what these Cats are really made of.

AP Poll Top 25

1) Baylor Bears

2) Gonzaga Bulldogs

3) UCLA Bruins

4) Auburn Tigers

5) USC Trojans

6) Arizona Wildcats

7) Purdue Boilermakers

8) Duke Blue Devils

9) Kansas Jayhawks

10) Michigan State Spartans

11) Houston Cougars

12) LSU Tigers

13) Wisconsin Badgers

14) Villanova Wildcats

15) Iowa State Cyclones

16) Ohio State Buckeyes

17) Xavier Musketeers

18) Kentucky Wildcats

19) Texas Tech Red Raiders

20) Seton Hall Pirates

21) Texas Longhorns

22) Tennessee Volunteers

23) Providence Friars

24) Alabama Crimson Tide

25) Illinois Fighting Illini

Coaches Poll Top 25

1) Baylor

2) Gonzaga

3) UCLA

4) Auburn

5) Purdue

6) Arizona

7) USC

8) Duke

9) Michigan State

10) Kansas

11) Houston

12) LSU

13) Wisconsin

14) Villanova

15) Ohio State

16) Iowa State

17) Kentucky

18) Seton Hall

19) Texas Tech

20) Providence

21) Xavier

22) Texas

23) Tennessee

24) Illinois

25) Alabama

For the first time in a while, the Cats slipped a little in the NET rankings. Not much, however, as they dropped just one spot to No. 16. Their next two opponents are Vanderbilt at 79^th and Tennessee at 11^th.

The Cats also slipped in KenPom, dropping from No. 8 to No. 10. They will face another top defense in the country on Saturday as the Vols are No. 3 in defense.

Kentucky had a massive slip in the NCAA.com Power 36 rankings as they fell from No. 8 to No. 17. I guess losing both of your point guards in a true road game vs. a top 25 team is a bad loss in some eyes.

In the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, the Cats didn’t move the last two weeks after going 4-0. However, after their 1-1 record this week, they moved from No. 22 to No. 21. Tennessee is 20^th.

The Cats’ unfortunate injuries were taken into account in ESPN’s power rankings for the top 16 teams, as they remained in the rankings and dropped from No. 13 to No. 15 overall.

Where do you think the Cats should be ranked? Let us know in the comments section!