How did Kentucky’s loss to No. 1 Kansas affect the Cats’ place in the Top 25 rankings?
Kentucky suffered its first loss of the 2023-24 season last week.
How did the defeat affect the Wildcats’ standing in the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings?
The new poll was released Monday afternoon, and UK moved up one spot from No. 17 to No. 16 on the latest list. Kentucky led No. 1-ranked Kansas by as many as 14 points in the second half before falling to the Jayhawks 89-84 in the Champion Classic in Chicago last Tuesday. UK defeated Stonehill College 101-67 on Friday night, with reigning Kentucky Mr. Basketball Reed Sheppard tallying 25 points and seven assists in the win.
The Wildcats, who were also ranked No. 16 in the preseason Top 25, took their new ranking into Monday night’s matchup against Saint Joseph’s, and a matchup with Marshall on Friday night will account for UK’s other game this week.
The next marquee game on Kentucky’s schedule will come Nov. 28 against Miami, which advanced to the Final Four last season and is off to a 5-0 start to the 2023-24 campaign. The Hurricanes — ranked No. 10 in Monday’s poll — defeated Kansas State 91-83 on Sunday and won’t have another game until their trip to Rupp Arena for the first installment of the ACC/SEC Challenge next week. Miami has not yet played a ranked team this season.
UK also has non-conference games against No. 14 North Carolina (Dec. 16 in Atlanta) and No. 11 Gonzaga (Feb. 10 in Lexington).
Kansas held on to the No. 1 spot in the new AP Top 25 poll with 52 of the 61 first-place votes. The Jayhawks were followed by No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Marquette and No. 5 UConn.
Six teams in the SEC are included in the latest college basketball rankings, with No. 7 Tennessee leading the way, followed by No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 17 Alabama, No. 20 Arkansas and No. 25 Mississippi State.
UK will play Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State twice each during the league portion of the schedule.
Two other SEC schools — Auburn and South Carolina — received votes in this week’s poll. The Gamecocks were picked last of 14 teams in the preseason SEC media poll and are off to a 5-0 start.
This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 1:06 PM.
