Kentucky basketball remains in the Top 25. However, bracket experts have a more favorable outlook for the Wildcats.
Kentucky guard Koby Brea speaks to the press following the Wildcats’ 96-83 defeat against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. By John Clay The Kentucky Wildcats maintained their position in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll on Monday.
Mark Pope’s squad stays at No. 17 in the rankings after splitting their two games last week.
Kentucky had dropped in the Top 25 poll for six consecutive weeks before holding steady at No. 17 in the latest update. The Wildcats were ranked No. 6 in the first set of rankings in the new year but had slipped slightly in each poll since, until Monday. This season, UK has been ranked as high as No. 4, marking Pope’s first year with the team, which began the season ranked No. 23.
The new rankings were announced after the Wildcats secured an 82-61 victory over Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena — avenging a prior loss to the Commodores in Nashville — but fell 96-83 to No. 4 Alabama on Saturday.
Both games were played without Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson — the team’s top point guard options — all sidelined by injuries, and there is no definitive timeline for their returns.
Butler (shoulder) and Robinson (wrist) were limited participants in UK’s pregame shootaround in Tuscaloosa ahead of the Alabama match, while Kriisa, who has been out since Dec. 7 with a foot injury, has yet to resume practice.
The Wildcats’ record stands at 18-9 overall and 7-7 in the SEC, with four regular-season games remaining. This week, they’ll face Oklahoma on the road Wednesday (9 p.m. EST on SEC Network) and host No. 1 Auburn on Saturday (1 p.m. EST on ABC).
Kentucky’s position in the Top 25 contrasts with the projections of most bracketologists heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee released its top 16 teams on Feb. 15, based on games played until then, placing Kentucky at No. 10 overall, as the second 3 seed.
Almost all bracketology forecasts following UK’s loss to Alabama on Saturday still have the Wildcats as a 3 seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected Kentucky as the final 3 seed in his Sunday afternoon update.
Despite having nine losses and a .500 record in the SEC, the Wildcats boast some of the country’s top victories. UK has beaten Duke and Florida — both projected as No. 1 seeds — and recorded a two-game sweep of Tennessee (another 1-seed contender), in addition to a win over Texas A&M, which is generally projected as a No. 2 seed.
Selection Sunday is March 9, less than three weeks away.
Kentucky players exit Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa after losing to Alabama on Saturday night. Kentucky players exit Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa after losing to Alabama on Saturday night. New AP Top 25 men’s rankings Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC) retained its No. 1 ranking in Monday’s poll for the seventh consecutive week. Bruce Pearl’s team will host Ole Miss on Wednesday before traveling to Lexington to play Kentucky on Saturday.
Auburn’s only two losses this season came against Duke and Florida, the No. 2 and 3 teams in this week’s AP rankings. Houston holds the No. 4 spot, followed by No. 5 Tennessee. The top 10 includes No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 St. John’s, No. 8 Michigan State, No. 9 Iowa State, and No. 10 Texas Tech.
Rick Pitino’s Red Storm have now been in the top 10 for three weeks straight, after not reaching that level since 2000, the same year they last won an NCAA Tournament game. They defeated defending national champion UConn 89-75 on Sunday.
The rest of the top 25 includes No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 13 Clemson, No. 14 Missouri, No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Maryland, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 18 Memphis, No. 19 Louisville, and No. 20 Purdue.
Coach Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals (21-6) climbed six spots in the latest poll.
At the bottom of the rankings: No. 21 Marquette, No. 22 Arizona, No. 23 Saint Mary’s, No. 24 Mississippi State, and No. 25 BYU, which was coached by Pope for the last five seasons before he moved to Kentucky.
Kansas, ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll, dropped out of the Top 25 completely after being ranked No. 23 in the previous poll. The Jayhawks, who suffered a 91-57 defeat to BYU last week, are now 18-9 and ranked 28th in the latest AP voting.