The first AP college basketball poll is out. Here’s where Kentucky ranks nationally.
The first game has yet to be played, but the initial Associated Press poll of the 2022-23 college basketball season was released Monday. The rankings are yet another indication that John Calipari could have a Final Four-caliber team in his 14th year at Kentucky.
The Wildcats ended up at No. 4 in the preseason AP poll, the 11th time in Calipari’s tenure that UK will begin the season ranked as one of the nation’s top five teams.
North Carolina starts the 2022-23 campaign as the No. 1 team in the country, followed by Gonzaga, Houston and UK, with Baylor and Kansas tied for the No. 5 spot. Duke is No. 7, with UCLA, Creighton and Arkansas rounding out the top 10.
Kentucky, of course, is bolstered by the return of reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, who leads what is projected to be a deep roster that features a mix of UK veterans, impact transfers and five-star newcomers.
The Cats began last season as the No. 10 team in the AP rankings — they were coming off a disastrous 9-16 campaign the year before — and outplayed that initial ranking, taking a 26-7 record into the NCAA Tournament, where No. 2-seeded Kentucky was upset by Saint Peter’s in the first round. (The Cats were ranked No. 7 going into the tournament).
Tshiebwe returns from that team, along with point guard Sahvir Wheeler and key reserve Jacob Toppin, all of whom are projected to be in the Cats’ starting lineup this season. UK also returns Daimion Collins and Lance Ware in the frontcourt, along with the arrival of McDonald’s All-American freshmen Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace, plus the addition of perimeter threats CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves, who will make their UK debuts after transferring from Iowa and Illinois State, respectively. (Fredrick transferred last year but missed the entire 2021-22 season with an injury).
Obviously, preseason polls mean nothing regarding a team’s final result. Since Kentucky last advanced to the Final Four in the 2014-15 season — which was also the last time UK was No. 1 in the preseason poll — the Cats have started the season ranked No. 2 nationally four times. UK has not earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the 38-1 team did it in 2015, though the latest ESPN Bracketology projects the Cats to end that skid this season.
Gonzaga, UNC and Houston are the other No. 1 seeds in the preseason ESPN Bracketology, with Baylor, Kansas, Texas and UCLA as the No. 2 seeds.
A couple of well-respected college basketball analytics websites — KenPom.com and EvanMiya.com — released their 2022-23 preseason rankings Sunday.
Kentucky will actually start the season at No. 1 in the KenPom ratings, which have the Cats projected as the No. 2 team in the country in offensive efficiency and No. 3 in defensive efficiency. UK is No. 4 on the EvanMiya site, behind Gonzaga, North Carolina and Houston.
UNC, Gonzaga are 1-2
North Carolina will start the season with the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2015-16, when the Tar Heels ultimately lost to Villanova in the national championship game.
UNC returns four of five starters from last season’s national runner-up team, including Armando Bacot, a likely first-team All-American to start the campaign.
Gonzaga is No. 2 in the preseason poll after starting at No. 1 the past two seasons. (The Zags also finished No. 1 in the final poll the past two seasons, though they didn’t go on to win the NCAA title in either year).
Gonzaga will be led by Drew Timme, who might be Tshiebwe’s biggest competition for repeat national player of the year honors. The Zags also returns key starters Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther and adds top transfer Malachi Smith. The program also brings back one-time UK commitment Nolan Hickman — likely the team’s starting point guard this season — and former Wildcats target Hunter Sallis, in addition to high-profile LSU transfer Efton Reid.
Kentucky travels to Spokane to take on Gonzaga on Nov. 20.
No. 3-ranked Houston has advanced to the Elite Eight and Final Four over the past two seasons, and the Cougars nearly knocked off Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen in the 2019 tournament. Marcus Sasser, who missed most of last season with an injury, will lead Houston, which is entering its ninth year under Coach Kelvin Sampson.
Big 12 rivals Baylor and Kansas ended up with the same number of votes, so they’ll both be ranked No. 5 to start the season.
The Jayhawks, who visit Rupp Arena on Jan. 28, will have several new faces as they look to defend the national championship, but Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. are back as starters. KU also brings in the No. 4 recruiting class in America — led by McDonald’s All-Americans Gradey Dick, M.J. Rice and Ernest Udeh — as well as Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar.
Baylor has LJ Cryer, Flo Thamba and Adam Flagler back from last season’s team, plus McDonald’s All-American guard Keyonte George — expected to be one of the best freshmen in the country — leading a pack of intriguing newcomers.
North Carolina received 47 of the 62 first-place votes in the preseason AP poll, with Gonzaga getting 12 first-place votes and Houston landing one. Kentucky received the other two first-place votes.
SEC in the rankings
Kentucky starts the season as the top-ranked team from the Southeastern Conference, but the Cats should have plenty of competition within the league. The SEC landed a total of five teams in the preseason AP Top 25, tying the Big 12 for the most of any league.
No. 10 Arkansas has been a buzz school this offseason, and the Razorbacks boast the No. 2 recruiting class nationally, led by projected top-five NBA Draft pick Nick Smith Jr. and fellow McDonald’s All-American prospects Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh.
No. 11 Tennessee returns a veteran bunch featuring Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James and Olivier Nkamhoua — all upperclassmen and starters from last season. The Vols also have sixth-man sparkplug guard Zakai Zeigler, top transfer Tyreke Key and McDonald’s All-American freshman Julian Phillips, among others.
No. 15 Auburn, which won the SEC regular-season title last season, returns veteran guards Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson, and the Tigers’ new arrivals include highly touted recruits Yohan Traore and Chance Westry, as well as Morehead State transfer Johni Broome.
Star recruits Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller should get plenty of early attention at Alabama, which is ranked No. 20 to start the season and has a mix of returning players and highly touted new arrivals in year four under Coach Nate Oats.
Kentucky’s schedule
In all, UK will play a total of 10 regular-season games against teams ranked in the first Top 25 poll.
Obviously, the big one early on will be Gonzaga, which hosts the Cats at Spokane Arena on Nov. 20. The Wildcats will also play neutral-site games against No. 8 UCLA (Dec. 17 in New York) and No. 22 Michigan (Dec. 4 in London), while Kentucky will host No. 5 Kansas as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28.
The rest of the Cats’ games against preseason-ranked teams will all come during the SEC portion of their schedule. UK plays a home-and-home series with No. 10 Arkansas and No. 11 Tennessee this season, while the Wildcats will travel to No. 20 Alabama on Jan. 7 and face No. 15 Auburn at home on Feb. 25.
Texas A&M, which will play in Rupp Arena on Jan. 21, is the first team outside the Top 25 poll. UK’s Champions Classic opponent, Michigan State, will be unranked for the second consecutive preseason.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 12:05 PM.
