Kentucky men’s basketball jumped up five spots to No. 9 in the week seven AP Top 25 Poll on Monday.
The rise in ranking came after the Wildcats conquered formerly No. 9 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. Carolina dropped to No. 11
Looking at the top five, No. 4 Arizona dropped out of the one spot after Purdue took it over, defeating the Wildcats 92-84. Kansas, who the Cats fell to earlier this season, remained steady in the two spot.
Two SEC teams cracked the top 10 in week seven as No. 8 Tennessee rose four spots to remain one ahead of Kentucky.
A new SEC face joined the top 25 after No. 25 Ole Miss improved to 10-0 with a win over California.
No. 15 Gonzaga and No.18 Clemson were week seven’s biggest losers as they each dropped five spots with losses to UConn and Memphis.
As of week seven, the Wildcats are set to face three more ranked teams this season, all within February and inside Rupp Arena.
Starting with No. 8 Tennessee, the Cats will then take on No. 15 Gonzaga and close out the ranked stretch with No. 25 Ole Miss.
The Wildcats will play the Volunteers a second time in Knoxville on March 9 to close out the regular season.
Kentucky’s next matchup will be with in-state rival Louisville on Thursday, Dec 9, at the KFC Yum! Center at 6 p.m. ET.
A full list of the week seven AP Poll can be seen below:
- Purdue (10-1)
- Kansas (10-1)
- Houston (11-0)
- Arizona (8-1)
- UConn (10-1)
- Marquette (9-2)
- Oklahoma (10-0)
- Tennessee (8-3)
- Kentucky (8-2)
- Baylor (9-1)
- North Carolina (7-3)
- Creighton (9-2)
- Illinois (8-2)
- Florida Atlantic (9-2)
- Gonzaga (8-3)
- Colorado State (10-1)
- BYU (10-1)
- Clemson (9-1)
- Texas (8-2)
- James Madison (10-0)
- Duke (7-3)
- Virginia (9-1)
- Memphis (8-2)
- Wisconsin (8-3)
- Ole Miss (10-0)