Kentucky women’s basketball closes in on AP top 10 as SEC continues to dominate rankings
Kenny Brooks has lifted Kentucky to its highest ranking in the Associated Press women’s college basketball Top 25 poll in years.
Following Kentucky’s 78-64 victory over Georgia on Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats (16-1, 5-0 SEC) checked in at No. 11 in the Week 12 rankings, up one spot from last week. Kentucky hasn’t cracked the top 11 since 2020-21, ahead of which the Wildcats were named No. 11 in the preseason poll, and during which they were named No. 11 in the Week 1 rankings and No. 9 in both Week 2 and Week 3.
Ohio State (17-1, 6-1 Big Ten), which suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday to Penn State, dropped three spots, allowing for Kentucky, Kansas State and TCU to jump ahead in the rankings. Apart from the fallout caused by that loss, the top 10 remained largely the same; the Southeastern Conference still has three representatives in the form of No. 2 South Carolina (18-1, 6-0), No. 5 LSU (20-0, 5-0) and No. 7 Texas (17-2, 4-1).
This week’s top 10 is as follows — No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Southern California, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Connecticut, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Maryland, No. 9 TCU and No. 10 Kansas State.
Three additional SEC teams hold strong in this week’s Top 25. No. 15 Oklahoma (15-4, 3-3) fell two spots after losing 101-60 on Sunday at South Carolina and beating Missouri on Thursday. No. 17 Tennessee (15-3, 3-3) also dropped two spots with its 71-70 loss at Vanderbilt on Sunday and victory over Mississippi State on Thursday. No. 19 Alabama (17-3, 4-2) stayed put after losing 76-58 to South Carolina on Thursday and beating Arkansas on Sunday.
Ole Miss (13-5, 4-2), Vanderbilt (15-4, 2-3) and Mississippi State (15-5, 2-4) each received Top 25 votes.
West Virginia (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) made the biggest jump, improving four spots, after wins over Colorado and Iowa State. California (17-3, 5-2 ACC) dropped four spots after losing 72-38 to Duke and beating Wake Forest 67-55.
NET rankings update
The Wildcats now find themselves ranked No. 18 in the NCAA NET rankings.
The NET is updated daily to reflect all games played, and Kentucky did drop down one spot between Jan. 13 and Jan. 20.
One week ago, Georgia (9-11, 1-5) ranked No. 136 in the NET. After losing to both Texas A&M and Kentucky, the Bulldogs now sit at No. 128. Kentucky’s upcoming opponents, Texas A&M (9-8, 2-3) and Arkansas (8-12, 1-4), rank No. 76 and No. 139, respectively.
The Wildcats are one of nine SEC teams in the NET’s top 25. No. 1 South Carolina, No. 3 Texas and No. 10 LSU remain in the top 10, alongside No. 2 Connecticut, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Southern California, No. 7 Kansas State, No. 8 Duke and No. 9 TCU.
No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 17 Alabama and No. 22 Vanderbilt join South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Kentucky in the top 25, while No. 34 Mississippi State, No. 54 Florida (11-9, 2-4), No. 59 Auburn (10-9, 1-5) and No. 79 Missouri (11-10, 0-6) remain within the NET’s top 100.
Next game
No. 11 Kentucky at Texas A&M
When: 7 p.m. EST Thursday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 16-1 (5-0 SEC), Texas A&M 9-8 (2-3)
Series: Texas A&M leads 10-5
Last meeting: Texas A&M won 61-44 at Rupp Arena on Feb. 11, 2024
