Welcome back, Kentucky.
The Wildcats' surprising and super-impressive win at West Virginia on Saturday was enough to return John Calipari's team to the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one) because UK now has the signature win it previously lacked. It doesn't mean everything's fixed in Lexington, necessarily. But it was definitely a good sign, a move in the proper direction and a resume-booster that should quiet conversations about whether Kentucky might spend early March on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Worth noting: Three of UK's next five games are on the road, and all three of those road games are against top-50 KenPom teams. Which means a bumpy stretch is still possible, if not likely. But if you can win at West Virginia, you can probably win just about anywhere. So, as always, we'll see.
The Wildcats are No. 21 in Sunday's updated Top 25 (and one). They're one of three SEC schools included in these rankings; Auburn and Tennessee are the other two. And you might've noticed I moved Auburn up considerably -- somewhat because four schools that were ranked ahead of the Tigers on Saturday subsequently lost, but mostly because they deserve to be in the top 10 right now. In a season where just about everybody loses random games, Auburn really doesn't. Bruce Pearl's team is 19-2 overall, 7-1 in the SEC and alone at the top of the standings of the league that just won the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. The Tigers' lone losses are a neutral-court loss to a Temple team that's also beaten Clemson, and a road loss to an Alabama team that's also beaten Oklahoma and Rhode Island. And in their past two games, they've gone on the road and smashed a Missouri team that's beaten Tennessee, then returned home and smashed an LSU team that's beaten Michigan.
Bottom line, Auburn is legit good.
So the Tigers are No. 10 in the Top 25 (and one) -- just ahead of West Virginia and Oklahoma. Villanova remains No. 1 heading into Sunday's game at Marquette. The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Wildcats' resume features three wins over teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one) -- specifically Xavier, Gonzaga and Tennessee. The lone loss is a single-digit loss at Butler. | -- | 18-16 |
| 2 |  | The Cavaliers have won 12 straight games since losing at West Virginia. They're 9-0 in the ACC and at least two games ahead of everybody else in the league standings. | -- | 23-11 |
| 3 |  | The Boilermakers have won 16 straight games since losing consecutive games to Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Fifteen of Purdue's 20 wins are double-digit wins. | 1 | 34-5 |
| 4 |  | The Blue Devils are 5-1 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-50 losses. They own wins over Michigan State, Florida State, Florida, Miami and Texas. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | The Jayhawks are 7-3 against top-50 KenPom teams with one sub-50 loss. They're alone atop the Big 12 standings heading into Monday's game at Kansas State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | The Spartans are 3-3 against top-50 KenPom teams. They've won three straight games since losing at home to Michigan. | -- | 20-15 |
| 7 |  | The Musketeers have won four straight games since losing at Villanova. Their resume includes seven top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-50 loss. | -- | 16-18 |
| 8 |  | The Bearcats will take a 12-game winning streak into Wednesday's game against Houston. They're 8-0 in the AAC and at least two games ahead of everybody else in the league standings. | 1 | 22-15 |
| 9 |  | The Red Raiders' resume features four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-45 loss. They've won two straight games since losing at Iowa State. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | The Tigers have won three straight games and are alone atop the SEC standings. They're 4-0 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-50 losses. | 7 | 27-8 |
| 11 |  | The Mountaineers' resume features four top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-35 losses. They're still the only team that's beaten Virginia. | 3 | 9-23 |
| 12 |  | The Sooners' resume features six top-50 KenPom wins and two sub-50 losses. They're 3-4 in their past seven games heading into Tuesday's game with Baylor. | 2 | 20-12 |
| 13 |  | The Gaels' 16-game winning streak includes victories at Gonzaga and at BYU. Their lone losses came more than two months ago. | -- | 26-8 |
| 14 |  | The Zags have won three straight games since losing to Saint Mary's. Their resume features three top-50 KenPom wins and only one sub-25 loss. | -- | 27-8 |
| 15 |  | The Wildcats have won six straight games since losing at Colorado. They're 2-2 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-50 losses. | -- | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | The Tigers own five top-50 KenPom wins and just two losses to unranked opponents. They're 11-0 at home and 3-1 in neutral-court games. | -- | 24-12 |
| 17 |  | The Tar Heels are 6-4 against top-50 KenPom teams with two sub-60 losses at home to Wofford and NC State. They'll take a two-game losing streak into Tuesday's game at Clemson. | 6 | 29-8 |
| 18 |  | The Vols' resume includes three top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-50 losses. They'll take a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game with LSU. | -- | 27-9 |
| 19 |  | The Shockers' resume features three top-50 KenPom wins and zero sub-45 losses. They're two games back of Cincinnati in the AAC standings. | -- | 15-19 |
| 20 |  | The Buckeyes' eight-game winning streak was snapped Thursday by Penn State. The loss doubled as OSU's first sub-40 KenPom loss. | -- | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats' resume includes four top-50 KenPom wins and just one sub-60 loss. They own victories over West Virginia and Louisville. | NR | 23-10 |
| 22 |  | The Rams have won 12 straight games since losing at Alabama. Two of their three losses are to teams also ranked in the Top 25 (and one). | -- | 12-20 |
| 23 |  | The Sun Devils' resume includes double-digit victories over Kansas and Xavier. They're 2-1 since losing at Stanford. | -- | 14-18 |
| 24 |  | Four of the Wolverines' six losses are to schools ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). Michigan's resume includes a double-digit victory at Michigan State. | -- | 8-24 |
| 25 |  | The Wolf Pack's seven-game winning streak was snapped late Wednesday at Wyoming thanks to a terrible no-call at the end of regulation. Nevada remains alone atop the MWC standings. | -- | 26-8 |
| 26 |  | The Seminoles have won three straight games since losing at Boston College. Their resume includes five top-50 KenPom wins and two sub-50 losses. | -- | 17-16 |
