The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team didn’t end the season on the note they would have liked. After getting hot at the end of the regular season, they lost their first game of the SEC Tournament to Texas A&M.
On Sunday, the Cats found out they would be a three seed in the NCAA Tournament, and would open March Madness on Thursday evening against Oakland in Pittsburgh.
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It’s still interesting to see where the Wildcats were ranked after their SEC Tournament loss, and on Monday, the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll put the Wildcats just outside the top ten. The final pre-March Madness poll has them 12th.
The top 25 polls don’t determine the National Champion. That will be decided in the NCAA Tournament. However, it’s interesting to not where the teams wound up after conference tourneys. It was a roller-coaster ride this season for Kentucky in the polls, but 12th isn’t a bad spot to end up in going into March Madness.
Here is the full top 25.
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 UConn
|
31-3 | 800 | 32 | 2 |
+1
|
1/5 |
| 2 |
 Houston
|
30-4 | 752 | 0 | 1 |
-1
|
1/6 |
| 3 |
 Purdue
|
29-4 | 740 | 0 | 3 | – | 1/4 |
| 4 |
 Iowa State
|
27-7 | 697 | 0 | 8 |
+4
|
4/NR |
| 5 |
 North Carolina
|
27-7 | 672 | 0 | 4 |
-1
|
3/21 |
| 6 |
 Tennessee
|
24-8 | 595 | 0 | 5 |
-1
|
4/13 |
| 7 |
 Auburn
|
27-7 | 573 | 0 | 12 |
+5
|
6/NR |
| 8 |
 Marquette
|
25-9 | 560 | 0 | 10 |
+2
|
3/18 |
| 9 |
 Arizona
|
25-8 | 544 | 0 | 7 |
-2
|
1/13 |
| 10 |
 Illinois
|
26-8 | 508 | 0 | 14 |
+4
|
8/NR |
| 11 |
 Creighton
|
23-9 | 506 | 0 | 6 |
-5
|
6/NR |
| 12 |
 Kentucky
|
23-9 | 415 | 0 | 9 |
-3
|
6/20 |
| 13 |
 Baylor
|
23-10 | 411 | 0 | 13 | – | 6/19 |
| 14 |
 Duke
|
24-8 | 400 | 0 | 11 |
-3
|
3/21 |
| 15 |
 Saint Mary’s
|
26-7 | 297 | 0 | 20 |
+5
|
15/NR |
| 16 |
 Gonzaga
|
25-7 | 220 | 0 | 15 |
-1
|
8/NR |
| 17 |
 South Carolina
|
26-7 | 218 | 0 | 16 |
-1
|
11/NR |
| 18 |
 Alabama
|
21-11 | 197 | 0 | 19 |
+1
|
13/NR |
| 19 |
 Utah State
|
27-6 | 193 | 0 | 18 |
-1
|
17/NR |
| 20 |
 Kansas
|
22-10 | 188 | 0 | 17 |
-3
|
1/20 |
| 21 |
 BYU
|
23-10 | 182 | 0 | 21 | – | 12/NR |
| 22 |
 Texas Tech
|
23-10 | 134 | 0 | 23 |
+1
|
15/NR |
| 23 |
 Florida
|
24-11 | 130 | 0 | NR |
+6
|
23/NR |
| 24 |
 Wisconsin
|
22-13 | 110 | 0 | NR | – | 6/NR |
| 25 |
 San Diego State
|
24-10 | 74 | 0 | NR |
+2
|
15/NR |