Kentucky wins two games, drops two spots in AP rankings
After a bit of a shaky start to their season at home, the Kentucky men’s basketball team dropped two spots to No. 7 in the first regular season Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Cats, ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to Utah Valley before battling to a 10-point win on Friday and then had difficulty with a veteran Vermont team on Sunday, holding off the Catamounts 73-69 on Sunday.
Duke, which thrashed Utah Valley by 30 points Saturday, held onto its No. 1 ranking from the preseason. The Blue Devils received 34 of 65 first-place votes from national media. Duke had 32 first-place votes in the preseason poll.
No. 2 Michigan State received 13 first-place votes, No. 3 Arizona got 16 and No. 4 Kansas had 2.
Supplanting the Cats were Villanova at No. 5 and Wichita State at No. 6. Florida, North Carolina and Southern California round out the top 10.
Kentucky gets a chance to prove itself Tuesday in a matchup with No. 4 Kansas in Chicago at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Men’s Associated Press Top 25
1. Duke
2. Michigan State
3. Arizona
4. Kansas
5. Villanova
6. Wichita State
7. Kentucky
8. Florida
9. North Carolina
10. USC
11. Miami (Fla.)
12.Cincinnati
13. Notre Dame
14. Minnesota
15. Xavier
16. Texas A&M
17. Gonzaga
18. Louisville
19. Purdue
20. Northwestern
21. St. Mary’s (Calif.)
22. Seton Hall
23. UCLA
24. West Virginia
25. Baylor
This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Kentucky wins two games, drops two spots in AP rankings."