How much did the Seton Hall loss cost Kentucky in the AP rankings?
After Kentucky’s overtime defeat to an unranked Seton Hall squad in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the Cats slipped to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press college basketball top-25 poll.
It’s the Cats’ second big drop of the season after being ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll and falling to No. 10 after the season opening blowout loss to Duke. Kentucky had inched up to ninth in last week’s poll after a string of victories over lesser opponents.
This week mark’s the lowest UK has been ranked since it ended the regular season last year at No. 23. The 2017-18 Cats were also regarded highly in the preseason at No. 5 before eventually sliding out of the poll in late January.
Preseason No. 1 Kansas is again the top-ranked team in the AP Top 25 following Gonzaga’s loss to Tennessee. The Jayhawks were the overwhelming top pick among voters despite struggling to get past New Mexico State at home. Duke moved up to No. 2 and Tennessee is No. 3 after beating the Zags in Phoenix.
Kansas received 57 first-place votes from a 65-person media panel. Duke received four first-place votes, while Tennessee, No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 5 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan each got one.
Nevada, Auburn, Michigan State and Florida State rounded out the top 10.
Tennessee picked up its biggest win in four seasons under Coach Rick Barnes by knocking off Gonzaga in the Colangelo Classic.
The victory was Tennessee’s first over a No. 1 team since beating Kansas in 2010 and Barnes’ first in 31 years as a head coach.
The Vols have their highest AP ranking since hitting No. 1 in 2007-08.
Three teams tied for the final spot. Syracuse, Indiana and Kansas State all came in at No. 25 after receiving 118 points. It’s the first three-way tie in the AP Top 25 since three teams shared No. 13 in 1991.
The Hoosiers are ranked for the first time since climbing to No. 3 in 2016-17. The Orange moved back into the Top 25 after beating Northeastern and Georgetown.
Kansas State dropped nine spots from No. 16 after losing to Tulsa.
In addition to Syracuse and Indiana, No. 21 Marquette and No. 24 Houston each moved into the poll this week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Top AP Twenty Five
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 9, 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 | Pvs |
1. Kansas (57) | 8-0 | 1,583 | 2 |
2. Duke (4) | 9-1 | 1,454 | 3 |
3. Tennessee (1) | 7-1 | 1,421 | 7 |
4. Gonzaga (1) | 9-1 | 1,412 | 1 |
5. Michigan (1) | 10-0 | 1,398 | 5 |
6. Virginia (1) | 9-0 | 1,384 | 4 |
7. Nevada | 10-0 | 1,283 | 6 |
8. Auburn | 8-1 | 1,151 | 8 |
9. Michigan St. | 8-2 | 1,066 | 10 |
10. Florida St. | 8-1 | 991 | 11 |
11. Texas Tech | 8-0 | 914 | 13 |
12. North Carolina | 7-2 | 890 | 14 |
13. Virginia Tech | 8-1 | 833 | 15 |
14. Buffalo | 9-0 | 664 | 17 |
15. Ohio St. | 8-1 | 621 | 19 |
16. Wisconsin | 8-2 | 599 | 12 |
17. Villanova | 8-2 | 532 | 21 |
18. Mississippi St. | 8-1 | 441 | 22 |
19. Kentucky | 7-2 | 385 | 9 |
20. Arizona St | 7-1 | 351 | 20 |
21. Marquette | 8-2 | 281 | - |
22. Iowa | 7-2 | 208 | 18 |
23. Furman | 10-0 | 189 | 25 |
24. Houston | 8-0 | 173 | - |
25. Syracuse | 7-2 | 118 | - |
25. Indiana | 8-2 | 118 | - |
25. Kansas St | 6-2 | 118 | 16 |
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 115, Maryland 105, Oklahoma 82, Cincinnati 73, St. John’s 57, Purdue 40, NC State 26, Iowa St. 19, TCU 13, San Francisco 5, UCLA 3, Minnesota 2, Butler 2, Davidson 1, Florida 1, NJIT 1, Seton Hall 1, Texas 1.