kentucky.jpg
USATSI

Kentucky has been playing its basketball of the season, and the Coaches Poll voters rewarded the effort on Monday by bumping the Wildcats up four spots to No. 13 following another couple couple blowout victories for UK. The Wildcats blasted Missouri in the SEC opener for both teams on Dec. 29 and followed up with an easy 92-48 victory against High Point on Dec. 31.

They are now 11-2 (1-0 SEC) heading into a Tuesday showdown with LSU, which registered as No. 20 in this week's Coaches Poll. UK's Coaches Poll ranking is three spots higher than its No. 16 slot in this week's AP Top 25. Since a 66-62 loss at Notre Dame on Dec. 11, the Wildcats are on a four-game winning streak that has seen them outscore North Carolina, Western Kentucky, Missouri and High Point by an average of 33.75 points.

Other big risers in the first Coaches Poll of 2022 included Villanova climbing seven spots to No. 15 following a 73-67 win at No. 22 Seton Hall. Villanova is four spots higher in the Coaches Poll than in the AP poll this week. Providence rose four spots to No. 17 in this week's Coaches Poll following Big East wins over Seton Hall and DePaul that improved its record to 13-1.

Coaches Poll

Rank Team Record Points Prev.
1 Baylor (32) 13-0 800 1
2 Duke 11-1 760 2
3 Purdue 12-1 713 3
4 Gonzaga 11-2 693 4
5 UCLA 8-1 657 5
6 Kansas 11-1 654 6
7 Arizona 11-1 559 7
8 USC12-0 517 9
9 Auburn 12-1 512 11
10 Michigan St 12-2 507 10
11 Iowa State 12-1 450 8
12 Ohio St. 9-2 412 12
13 Kentucky 11-2 344 17
14 Houston 12-2 328 14
15 Villanova 9-4 286 22
16 Texas 11-2 285 18
17 Providence 13-1 284 21
18 Tennessee 9-3 253 15
19 Colorado St. 10-0 229 20
20 Alabama 10-3 223 19
21 LSU 12-1 208 16
22 Seton Hall 9-3 160 13
23 Wisconsin 10-2 156 23
24 Xavier 11-2 136 24
25 Texas Tech 10-2 110 25

Others receiving votes: Illinois 37, Connecticut 30, Oklahoma 29, Loyola-Chicago 16, Arkansas 15, Minnesota 14, San Francisco 6, Brigham Young 5, Saint Mary's 4, Florida 4, West Virginia 2, Florida State 1, Davidson 1.