They’re back. UK women return to the top 25 rankings after 7-0 start.
After almost a year off the national radar, the Kentucky women’s basketball program jumped back into the Associated Press Top 25 this week.
Kentucky (7-0) is off to its best start since 2015 and cracked this week’s AP poll at No. 25 after an impressive sweep of the Paradise Jam Island Division that included wins over then No. 17 South Florida and North Carolina.
Kentucky was last ranked at No. 20 last season on Dec. 4, 2017, but went on to a disappointing 15-17 campaign.
This year, Kentucky has been rejuvenated with the full-court style that helped head coach Matthew Mitchell first bring the Cats to prominence and once had them in the rankings for a stretch of 132 straight weeks during his 12-year tenure.
Freshman Rhyne Howard has helped lead the resurgence, averaging a team-leading 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Kentucky next plays Morehead State at home in Memorial Coliseum at noon Wednesday.
Notre Dame and UConn remain the top two teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll, setting up a 1-vs.-2 matchup on Sunday.
Oregon, Baylor and Louisville followed Notre Dame and UConn in the poll voted on by a 31-member national media panel Monday.
The top 10 teams remained unchanged, with Mississippi State, Maryland, Stanford, Oregon State and Texas rounding out the group.
There was change at the bottom of the poll, with Iowa State and Drake joining Kentucky in the rankings for the first time this season at Nos. 23, 24 and 25. West Virginia, Missouri and South Florida fell out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The AP Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 25, 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. Notre Dame (31) | 6-0 | 775 | 1 |
2. UConn | 5-0 | 735 | 2 |
3. Oregon | 6-0 | 705 | 3 |
4. Baylor | 6-0 | 674 | 4 |
5. Louisville | 5-0 | 660 | 5 |
6. Mississippi St. | 6-0 | 606 | 6 |
7. Maryland | 6-0 | 576 | 7 |
8. Stanford | 6-0 | 567 | 8 |
9. Oregon St. | 5-1 | 523 | 9 |
10. Texas | 6-0 | 494 | 10 |
11. Tennessee | 5-0 | 476 | 11 |
12. Syracuse | 6-1 | 422 | 14 |
13. N.C. State | 6-0 | 410 | 15 |
14. Iowa | 5-1 | 323 | 12 |
15. California | 6-0 | 287 | 18 |
16. DePaul | 3-2 | 285 | 16 |
17. Texas A&M | 4-1 | 221 | 20 |
18. South Carolina | 3-3 | 212 | 13 |
19. Arizona St. | 3-2 | 178 | 19 |
20. Minnesota | 5-0 | 170 | 23 |
21. Miami | 6-1 | 148 | 24 |
22. Marquette | 4-1 | 137 | 22 |
23. Iowa St. | 5-0 | 93 | - |
24. Drake | 6-1 | 73 | - |
25. Kentucky | 7-0 | 68 | - |
Others receiving votes: West Virginia 59, Northwestern 59, Missouri 59, Georgia 18, South Florida 17, Virginia Tech 13, Michigan 10, Utah 6, North Carolina 5, Southern Cal 4, Florida St. 3, Boise St. 2, LSU 2.