Kentucky women’s basketball remained in the No. 16 slot in the Week 9 AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday for the fourth consecutive week, entering conference play with its highest ranking since the 2020-21 season.
The Wildcats boast an 11-1 record thus far, just one game shy from overtaking the win amount from last season. Kentucky is currently on a four-game win streak, now facing its first true test as a new team: the SEC.
Since its first loss of the season to No. 16 North Carolina, Kentucky has gone on to win the following five games by a margin of 24 points, something Kentucky fans aren’t used to due to the fact that last year’s team had seven losses at this point of the season.
Head Coach Kenny Brooks has taken over and put his team in stride, holding an undefeated record at home and mentoring some of the best players in the conference such as Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack.
Amoore leads the SEC in assists per game with 7.2 and Strack ranks sixth in rebounds per game (9.7) and second in blocks per game (2.4).
With a talented roster solidified and the fan support growing at a rapid pace, Kentucky will look to remain permanent when mentioned among one of the best underrated teams in the nation.
The top 25 did not experience any major shifts this week despite a jump into the top 20 by No. 19 Alabama, replacing No. 21 Michigan State. The SEC and Big 10 have continued to battle all season for the most number of ranked teams, a battle the SEC had won going into conference play with nine total teams ranked. The Big 10 had eight.
When looking at how the Wildcats stack up against the other conference teams, it’s safe to say the path won’t be easy. Kentucky will obviously have to face a plethora of ranked teams, but it starts conference play against two teams who have only lost one game each as well with Mississippi State on Jan. 2 and Vanderbilt on Jan 5.
Playing winnable games through the majority of January, the Wildcats end the month off with a home matchup against No. 19 Alabama on the 30th. This begins a stretch of game where the Wildcats will face five ranked opponents in their following seven games including No. 9 Oklahoma on Feb. 2, No. 25 Ole Miss on Feb. 10, No. 5 Texas on Feb. 13, No. 6 LSU on Feb. 23 and No. 15 Tennessee on Feb. 27.
To finish the season, the Wildcats will travel to South Carolina to take on the reigning national champion Gamecocks on March 2.
The Wildcats will have plenty of opportunities to take down a top 10 opponent and maintain their relevance in conference play, beginning with a matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Jan. 2. The game is set to tip off inside Historic Memorial Coliseum at 7 p.m. and will air live on SEC Network+.
A full list of the rankings can be found below:
- UCLA Bruins (13-0)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (12-1)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-2)
- USC Trojans (12-1)
- Texas Longhorns (13-1)
- LSU Tigers (15-0)
- UConn Huskies (11-2)
- Maryland Terrapins (12-0)
- Oklahoma Sooners (12-1)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (13-0)
- TCU Horned Frogs (13-1)
- Kansas State Wildcats (13-1)
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (14-0)
- Duke Blue Devils (10-3)
- Tennessee Volunteers (12-0)
- Kentucky Wildcats (11-1)
- North Carolina Tar Heels (13-2)
- West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (13-1)
- California Golden Bears (13-1)
- Michigan State Spartans (11-2)
- NC State Wolfpack (10-3)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (11-2)
- Michigan Wolverines (10-3)
- Ole Miss Rebels (8-3)
Receiving votes: Vanderbilt (26), Utah (24), Illinois (11), Oklahoma State (7), Baylor (5), Nebraska (4), Mississippi State (3), Harvard (3), Portland (1).