The Cats continued their climb in the AP poll after comeback win at Florida
Riding an eight-game winning streak that included Saturday’s remarkable turn of an 11-point second-half deficit into an 11-point road win over Florida, Kentucky (18-3) moved up two spots to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
It’s Kentucky’s highest ranking since the AP rated it No. 2 in preseason. The Cats benefited from losses by both Michigan and Michigan State over the weekend as the Wolverines and Spartans slipped to Nos. 7 and 9, respectively. Michigan lost at Iowa on Friday night, while Michigan State was stunned by Indiana at home in East Lansing on Saturday.
Tennessee remained at No. 1 for the third straight week and the top four were unchanged. No. 2 Duke had 12 first-place votes and No. 3 Virginia four. Gonzaga and Kentucky rounded out the top 5.
The Volunteers received 48 of 64 first-place votes from a media panel in the poll released Monday.
No. 6 Nevada and No. 8 North Carolina also moved up in the poll, while Louisville dropped only one spot to No. 16 after its home lost to the Tar Heels on Saturday.
No. 25 Cincinnati moved into the AP Top 25 for the first time this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 3, 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. Tennessee (48) | 20-1 | 1,579 | 1 |
2. Duke (12) | 19-2 | 1,532 | 2 |
3. Virginia (4) | 20-1 | 1,478 | 3 |
4. Gonzaga | 21-2 | 1,423 | 4 |
5. Kentucky | 18-3 | 1,310 | 7 |
6. Nevada | 21-1 | 1,228 | 8 |
7. Michigan | 20-2 | 1,217 | 5 |
8. North Carolina | 17-4 | 1,167 | 9 |
9. Michigan St. | 18-4 | 1,051 | 6 |
10. Marquette | 19-3 | 1,029 | 10 |
11. Virginia Tech | 18-3 | 948 | 12 |
12. Houston | 21-1 | 838 | 13 |
13. Kansas | 17-5 | 809 | 11 |
14. Villanova | 18-4 | 801 | 14 |
15. Purdue | 16-6 | 697 | 17 |
16. Louisville | 16-6 | 561 | 15 |
17. Iowa St. | 17-5 | 545 | 20 |
18. Texas Tech | 17-5 | 482 | 16 |
19. Wisconsin | 16-6 | 462 | 24 |
20. Iowa | 17-5 | 242 | - |
21. LSU | 17-4 | 205 | 19 |
22. Florida St. | 16-5 | 180 | 25 |
23. Buffalo | 19-3 | 153 | 18 |
24. Maryland | 17-6 | 144 | 21 |
25. Cincinnati | 19-3 | 142 | - |
Others receiving votes: Washington 135, Mississippi St. 133, Auburn 128, Kansas St 114, Baylor 44, Wofford 15, Lipscomb 5, Syracuse 3.
This story was originally published February 4, 2019 at 12:25 PM.