Kentucky returns to top 10 in latest AP rankings
Kentucky’s men’s basketball team moved back into the top 10 in The Associated Press rankings Monday after a three-week absence.
Victories at Missouri and at home against Florida boosted the Wildcats (24-5, 14-2 Southeastern Conference) from No. 11 last week to No. 9 this week.
Kentucky’s highest ranking this season came in weeks three and four, when the Wildcats were No. 1 in the nation.
The Wildcats are moving in the right direction again, and there might be room to rise further given the amount of movement in the top 10 in the past week.
Gonzaga (29-1) held the No. 1 ranking for the past four weeks but tumbled to No. 4 after being upset by BYU on Saturday.
Kansas (26-3) is the new No. 1 this week, fresh off winning the Big 12 regular-season title for a record 13th year in a row.
Kansas is the sixth school to be No. 1 this season.
Villanova (27-3) remained second while UCLA (26-3) moved from fifth to third.
Villanova (27-3) remained second despite losing to Butler last week. The Wildcats were No. 1 on two ballots. UCLA (26-3), which was No. 1 on three ballots, moved up from fifth to third after its win over Arizona on Saturday.
North Carolina moved from eighth to fifth and was followed by Oregon, Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Baylor was 11th followed by Florida, Butler, SMU, Florida State, Purdue, Duke, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.
The last five ranked teams were Wichita State, Wisconsin, Virginia and newcomers Iowa State and Miami.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 26, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Record | Pts | Prv | |
1. Kansas (58) | 26-3 | 1,618 | 3 |
2. Villanova (2) | 27-3 | 1,487 | 2 |
3. UCLA (3) | 26-3 | 1,474 | 5 |
4. Gonzaga (2) | 29-1 | 1,419 | 1 |
5. North Carolina | 25-5 | 1,381 | 8 |
6. Oregon | 26-4 | 1,343 | 6 |
7. Arizona | 26-4 | 1,223 | 4 |
8. Louisville | 23-6 | 1,176 | 7 |
9. Kentucky | 24-5 | 1,119 | 11 |
10. West Virginia | 23-6 | 1,041 | 12 |
11. Baylor | 23-6 | 923 | 9 |
12. Florida | 23-6 | 807 | 13 |
13. Butler | 23-6 | 795 | 22 |
14. SMU | 25-4 | 738 | 17 |
15. Florida State | 23-6 | 722 | 19 |
16. Purdue | 23-6 | 651 | 14 |
17. Duke | 22-7 | 622 | 10 |
18. Cincinnati | 25-4 | 504 | 15 |
19. Notre Dame | 22-7 | 482 | 21 |
20. Saint Mary’s | 26-3 | 445 | 20 |
21. Wichita State | 27-4 | 250 | 25 |
22. Wisconsin | 22-7 | 206 | 16 |
23. Virginia | 19-9 | 194 | 18 |
24. Iowa State | 19-9 | 168 | _ |
25. Miami | 20-8 | 123 | _ |
Others receiving votes: Minnesota 66, Oklahoma State 54, Dayton 32, Michigan 14, Middle Tennessee 13, Creighton 12, Southern Cal 7, Michigan State 3, Monmouth 3, Vermont 2, VCU 2, Virginia Tech 2, Arkansas 1, BYU 1, Maryland 1, Princeton 1.
This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Kentucky returns to top 10 in latest AP rankings."