Kentucky remains in the top 10 following up-and-down week, win over Oklahoma
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky stays in AP top-10 after split week, loss to Alabama and win over Oklahoma.
- Key’s dislocated elbow reduces rotation; Morgan, Obi and Hassett raise production.
- Attendance surges at Memorial Coliseum; fan interest fuels program momentum.
Kentucky women’s basketball remains in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 women’s college basketball poll following an up-and-down week in league play.
The Wildcats (16-2, 3-1 SEC) fell one spot to No. 7 after a 13-point loss at Alabama and a 63-58 victory over Oklahoma.
Following the news that senior forward Teonni Key would be out for the foreseeable future due to a dislocated elbow sustained in UK’s win over Missouri, on Jan. 4, the margin for error thinned significantly; Key was instrumental in the New Year’s Day win at LSU, and given the fact that coach Kenny Brooks still isn’t one to go too deep into his bench, a week featuring Alabama on the road and top-five Oklahoma at Memorial Coliseum felt like inconvenient timing, to say the least.
But there’s never a good time to lose a player to injury (and certainly not one as important as Key), and there aren’t many breaks on the Southeastern Conference schedule.
Down Key, facing a talented, well-coached Crimson Tide, it was unsurprising to see the Wildcats fall in Tuscaloosa. Especially since Clara Strack made just 1 of her 13 field goal attempts and scored 4 points to pair with her 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. Only backcourt duo Tonie Morgan (14 points) and Asia Boone (12 points) scored in double figures, though three 3-pointers from Amelia Hassett brought the senior forward close to the mark.
That said, even given Oklahoma’s Thursday loss to Mississippi, I wasn’t sure Sunday’s top-10 tilt would end in favor of the Wildcats.
My biggest takeaways from Kentucky’s 63-57 win over the Sooners:
- Tonie Morgan is elevating her draft stock by embracing a superhero-like presence — not dissimilar to the one consistently taken on by last year’s star floor general, Georgia Amoore — to keep the Wildcats on their game, even when the competition is stiff, physical and even healthier than she or her teammates.
- Sunday marked the first time in program history that the Wildcats have defeated two top-5 teams in the same season; Kentucky doesn’t need Key to handle business against high-level teams. The Wildcats are still in need of better communication on the floor, and smarter shot selection — see a big chunk of the field goal attempts from Sunday’s game as an example — but the talent is there to ensure that, it appears, unless the competition is truly elite (Connecticut, UCLA and, despite its loss to LSU, I still believe Texas), Kentucky can come out on top.
- Players like Jordan Obi (who missed five layups in the first quarter against OU) who, due to foul trouble, was well-rested to come back in during the fourth quarter and finish strong in transition, in the paint and on the boards opposite an exhausted, foul-trouble-ridden Oklahoma, quite literally securing the victory, or freshman Kaelyn Carroll, who, amid freshman mistakes, held her own to bolster Kentucky’s defense and sank a 3-pointer during the Wildcats’ scoring run which erased a 13-point deficit, or defensive stalwart Hassett, who switched to guard All-America center Raegan Beers when had to sit, are continuing to develop within Brooks’ system and finding their way when the team needs them most. It’s not perfect, and the Wildcats need Key to achieve their goals. But the loss to Alabama was far from the emergency alarm it seemed to many, and fans would be right to keep their faith in this group.
- Big Blue Nation is caring more about Kentucky women’s basketball than it has in years, and that’s a great thing. Maybe it’s the top-10 ranking, maybe it’s the somewhat unexpected struggle of the men’s program, maybe it’s a combination or something else entirely. Regardless of the reason, more than 5,700 reported fans showed up at Memorial Coliseum for UK-OU, and it was the loudest, most passionate crowd I’ve seen for the program since I took this job at the end of 2022. Brooks built up the fan base at James Madison and at Virginia Tech, and, if he continues along this path, he will build it here, too.
Around the SEC: For the first time during the 2025-26 season, nine conference teams are ranked within the Top 25; this is an increase of one due to Alabama’s entry following its win over Kentucky. The Crimson Tide (16-1) debuted at No. 21.
No. 2 South Carolina (17-1) improved one spot following Texas’ loss to LSU; the No. 4 Longhorns (18-1) fell two places.
No. 5 Vanderbilt (17-0) jumped two spots to No. 5, achieving its highest ranking since 2002, after beating Texas A&M by 40, and Missouri by 31.
No. 6 LSU (16-2) rose six places after handing Texas its first loss of the season and beating Georgia 80-59.
No. 13 Oklahoma (14-3) dropped eight spots after its two-loss week, while No. 16 Mississippi (16-3) improved two places thanks to wins over the Sooners and rival Mississippi State.
No. 20 Tennessee (12-3) stayed put following a 90-80 win over Mississippi State and an 85-50 win over Arkansas.
Georgia (15-3) received Top 25 votes.
Kentucky will host Florida (12-7) Thursday before a road trip to Mississippi State (14-4) Sunday.
Caroline Makauskas’ Team of the Week
I’ve had a hard time knowing what to make of the Rebels this season, but you can always count on Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s teams — typically full of talent — to show up ready to play hard, and play together.
And there’s nothing like a two-win week, particularly when it comes in the form of a 74-69 win against a top-5 team and a 25-point beatdown of your in-state rival.
Following a weaker nonconference slate which featured losses to Kansas State and ranked Michigan State, Ole Miss took top-five Texas to the limit, narrowly losing in a hard-fought, single-possession battle. The loss in Austin featured a disappointing first three quarters, including a four-point second period, and a roaring comeback in the final 10 minutes of the game.
With a starting five of Cotie McMahon — one of the more highly-touted transfers this past offseason — Christeen Iwuala, Latasha Lattimore, Debreasha Powe and Sira Thienou, there’s a real chance that Mississippi can beat almost anybody on any given night, a lot like Kentucky (which the Rebels play in Lexington on Feb. 15).
Both McMahon (tied for fifth at 19.2 points) and Iwuala (No. 22 at 14.3 points) rank within the SEC’s top-25 scorers as the Rebels average 79.1 points per game through 19 games played. Defensively, Ole Miss allows just 55.1 points per contest, which ranks the program fifth in the conference.
The Rebels play at Georgia on Sunday with Missouri to follow on Jan. 22 before facing Tennessee and Vanderbilt in Oxford, the latter two of which should shed more light on their ability to defend teams averaging at least 81 points per game.
Caroline Makauskas’ Top 25 ballot: No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 9 Louisville, No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Mississippi, No. 12 Iowa, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 18 Maryland, No. 19 TCU, No. 20 Nebraska, No. 21 Stanford, No. 22 Princeton, No. 23 Alabama, No. 24 Washington, No. 25 Notre Dame.
