Kentucky basketball defeated the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday night, and it’s safe to say it was an unforgettable one. The Wildcats completed a second half comeback, locking Duke’s offense up and holding them to just 26 points, while making key shots of their own to get the upset win.
The victory was great for fans, but everyone else took notice as well. It feels certain that all of the new top 25 polls will see a big rise from the Wildcats, and that started with ESPN on Thursday.
Related: Five things learned from Kentucky’s win over Duke
Analyst Jeff Borzello ranked the teams, and Kentucky saw a drastic rise after Tuesday’s win. Previously, they were ranked 23rd, but jumped all the way up to number eight this week. Here’s what he had to say about the Cats:
At halftime during the Champions Classic, it was fair to question whether Kentucky could consistently get points in a half-court setting against a strong opponent. Duke was keeping the Wildcats out of transition, and after an early barrage of 3s, the team’s attack had dried up. Then Mark Pope made some smart tweaks offensively, using Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison as playmakers in the middle of the floor, and Andrew Carr created matchup problems. The Wildcats answered a lot of questions with their second-half showing.
As more rankings come out, fans should see similar jumps from Kentucky after a defining win in early in the Mark Pope era.