The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team has taken their fans on quite a ride this season. They looked like a championship contender for the first few months of the season, getting wins over more than one ranked teams.
Conference play began in January, and they began to struggle. Their defense was one of the nation’s worst, and conference opponents were able to take advantage. The Wildcats lost three straight home games at one point.
Over the past few weeks, a change in their defensive intensity has been noticeable. They knocked off two highly ranked teams in Auburn and Alabama, then won a couple of games where they had to make some big defensive plays. They have now won five of their last six games, and on Monday, they gained more ground in the top 25 polls.
Last week, Kentucky was 16th in the AP Poll. This week, they move up one spot to 15th, after going 2 – 0 in their previous week’s games. Had the two games not been so close, they may have moved up even farther. The Wildcats come in ahead of Alabama, and one spot behind Kansas, who lost their last two games.
Kentucky plays their last two games this week, and one of them is against fourth-ranked Tennessee. If the Cats win both games, they’re certain to shoot up in next week’s polls.