Where Kentucky women’s basketball stands in the national rankings after its rout of Purdue
Another iteration of the Associated Press women’s basketball top 25, another week of no movement for Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky Wildcats.
For the second week in a row, the Wildcats (9-1) clocked in at No. 16. It’s not entirely surprising; though UK handled both of its opponents — defeating Queens (N.C.) 87-45 and Purdue 82-52 — neither win, no matter how commanding, was enough to push the Wildcats past their fellow members within or around the top 15.
The Wildcats are one of seven Southeastern Conference programs featured within this week’s top 25. South Carolina (10-1) improved to No. 2 after Connecticut, last week’s second-place team, fell to top-10 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. No. 5 LSU (12-0), however, suffered the consequences as the Fighting Irish surged into the top three and the Huskies moved to No. 4. SEC newcomers Texas (10-1) and Oklahoma (9-1) didn’t move an inch, with the Longhorns remaining at No. 6 and the Sooners holding strong at No. 10.
Tennessee (8-0), fresh off a record-breaking, 139-59 victory against North Carolina Central, improved one spot to No. 18, while Ole Miss (7-3) fell three spots to No. 25 despite winning its sole game of the week, a 94-39 rout of South Alabama at home.
Alabama (10-1), Vanderbilt (10-1) and Mississippi State (10-1) also received votes.
Notre Dame and Georgia Tech (11-0) took the biggest jumps of the week, each improving at least five spots after impressive showings against high-profile competition. The Yellow Jackets moved up eight spots to No. 17 after a 97-37 victory over Louisiana Monroe, and a shiny, 82-76 upset of then-No. 14 North Carolina on the road. The Tar Heels (10-2) fell five spots to No. 19.
No. 1 UCLA remained at the top of the poll, and is joined in the top 10 by No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Notre Dame (9-2), No. 4 UConn (9-1), No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Southern California (10-1), No. 8 Maryland (10-0), No. 9 Duke (9-2) and No. 10 Oklahoma.
NET rankings update
Though at one point hitting a weekly peak at No. 30 over the past six days, the Wildcats’ spot in the NCAA NET rankings is the same as it was last Monday — UK sits at No. 33.
As of early Monday afternoon, the SEC had 11 teams in the NET’s top 50, and seven in the top 20. South Carolina still ranks No. 1, while No. 2 Texas and No. 9 Vanderbilt remain in the top 10, despite some movement.
The remaining members of the NET top 10 are No. 3 Kansas State, No. 4 Connecticut, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 TCU, No. 8 Southern California and No. 10 West Virginia.
Oklahoma improved to No. 13, while LSU dropped to No. 15 and Ole Miss jumped to No. 17. Alabama sits at No. 20, and Mississippi State sits at No. 21. Tennessee remains at No. 25, while Auburn rose slightly to No. 49.
No. 58 Missouri, No. 59 Florida and No. 95 Texas A&M still rank within the top 100, while No. 140 Arkansas and No. 155 Georgia have some work to do before Selection Sunday rolls around.
Next game
Belmont at No. 16 Kentucky
When: 6 p.m. Friday
TV: SEC Network+ (online only)
Records: UK 9-1, Belmont 5-5
Series: Kentucky leads 5-1
Last meeting: Kentucky won 70-50 on Nov. 29, 2020, in Lexington
This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 2:03 PM.
