Monday Headlines: UK in the new college basketball rankings (UPDATE)

Kentucky is barely hanging in there.

By John Morgan Francis and Jason Marcum Updated Dec 26, 2022, 1:15pm EST

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UPDATE

The Kentucky Wildcats remain No. 19 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
The Athletic also put the Wildcats at 19.
The Coaches Top 25 Poll put them at 17.
Andy Katz’s Power 36 at ncaa.com has the Wildcats at 30, adding “Still not sure what to make of this squad and how good the Wildcats can be this season.”

Same.

The ESPN Power Rankings (only 16 teams) still don’t include the Cats, but BPI has them at No. 8.
The CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 has Kentucky at 17.
KenPom has the Wildcats at 10, while Bart Torvik has them at 18.
NET put Kentucky at 31, while Missouri checked in at 40.

So, what say you? Let us know where the Wildcats should be ranked in the latest polls, or if they should even be in them to begin with.

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team will begin their Southeastern Conference schedule this week with a tough road test vs. the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday, then have their annual in-state rivalry game with the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday.

Head coach John Calipari has recently asked for fans to have patience with his team. While the Wildcats are 8-3 and in much better shape than Louisville (2-11), patience is something that Big Blue fans don’t really care to hear.

The Wildcats have a veteran-heavy roster that includes the reigning national player of the year, highly-touted transfers and a couple of promising freshman. Yet the team has narrowly defeated Michigan and seven other teams that aren’t considered as “quality” wins.

Kentucky has come up short in losses to Michigan State, Gonzaga and UCLA (all neutral site games) and suffering a loss in their first road test of the season on Wednesday would only fuel the frustrations of the fanbase. A road win, however, would indicate the team is headed in the right direction coming out of the holiday and into 2023.

After all, the Wildcats’ January schedule is packed with key matchups and opportunities to improve their resume for the anticipated postseason. Below is what the calendar looks like for the next month.

Home games: LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas A&M & Kansas

Road games: Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt & Ole Miss

Needless to say, January’s results will play a major role in how Kentucky is looked at come March. Check back here later as we upload the latest college basketball rankings.