Fans of the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team have been treated to a run of terrific games over the past few weeks. That streak of good play has them rising once again in the top 25 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The Wildcats got an exciting win against Mississippi State to start the week. The victory came on a last second shot by Reed Sheppard on a night where the Freshman has a monster game.
On Saturday, Kentucky had a tough game against the Arkansas Razorbacks that took the full 40 minutes to win. The Cats had to come from behind in the second half, then pulled ahead late.
On Monday, the Coaches Poll rewarded Kentucky for the 2 – 0 week by moving them up two spots to 13th. They also moved ahead of both Auburn and Alabama, who they’ve beaten recently. They’re now the second highest ranked SEC team, behind only Tennessee, who they play to close out the year.
Here is the complete top 25.
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Houston
|
26-3 | 795 | 28 | 1 | – | 1/6 |
| 2 |
 UConn
|
26-3 | 757 | 3 | 2 | – | 1/5 |
| 3 |
 Purdue
|
26-3 | 745 | 1 | 3 | – | 1/4 |
| 4 |
 Tennessee
|
23-6 | 705 | 0 | 4 | – | 4/13 |
| 5 |
 Arizona
|
23-6 | 644 | 0 | 7 |
+2
|
1/13 |
| 6 |
 Iowa State
|
23-6 | 629 | 0 | 6 | – | 6/NR |
| 7 |
 North Carolina
|
23-6 | 628 | 0 | 8 |
+1
|
3/21 |
| 8 |
 Duke
|
23-6 | 541 | 0 | 10 |
+2
|
3/21 |
| 9 |
 Marquette
|
22-7 | 531 | 0 | 5 |
-4
|
3/18 |
| 10 |
 Creighton
|
22-8 | 487 | 0 | 12 |
+2
|
7/NR |
| 11 |
 Baylor
|
21-8 | 452 | 0 | 14 |
+3
|
6/19 |
| 12 |
 Illinois
|
22-7 | 423 | 0 | 16 |
+4
|
8/NR |
| 13 |
 Kentucky
|
21-8 | 396 | 0 | 15 |
+2
|
6/20 |
| 14 |
 Auburn
|
22-7 | 376 | 0 | 11 |
-3
|
6/NR |
| 15 |
 Kansas
|
21-8 | 366 | 0 | 9 |
-6
|
1/15 |
| 16 |
 South Carolina
|
24-5 | 298 | 0 | 18 |
+2
|
11/NR |
| 17 |
 Alabama
|
20-9 | 289 | 0 | 13 |
-4
|
13/NR |
| 18 |
 Gonzaga
|
24-6 | 215 | 0 | 22 |
+4
|
8/NR |
| 19 |
 San Diego State
|
22-7 | 194 | 0 | 19 | – | 15/NR |
| 20 |
 Washington State
|
23-7 | 182 | 0 | 21 |
+1
|
20/NR |
| 21 |
 Saint Mary’s
|
24-7 | 175 | 0 | 17 |
-4
|
17/NR |
| 22 |
 Utah State
|
24-5 | 151 | 0 | 23 |
+1
|
17/NR |
| 23 |
 BYU
|
21-8 | 140 | 0 | NR |
+3
|
12/NR |
| 24 |
 South Florida
|
22-5 | 88 | 0 | 25 |
+1
|
24/NR |
| 25 |
 Florida
|
20-9 | 42 | 0 | 24 |
-1
|
24/NR |