The Kentucky Wildcats checked in at No. 9 overall in the first AP Top 25 Poll. Now, the first edition of the Coaches Poll is out, and the Cats checked in at No. 9 yet again.
This means Kentucky will be
a consensus top-10 team to start Year 2 of the Mark Pope era after barely cracking the top 25 in his debut season before tying the all-time regular-season mark for wins vs. AP Top-15 teams.
The Purdue Boilermakers took home the top spot, just as they were in the AP Poll, so the Cats get the consensus No. 1 team at Rupp Arena for a Friday night exhibition matchup.
The Florida Gators are the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 3. Arkansas (15), Alabama (16), Tennessee (17), and Auburn (22) also made the cut.
Kentucky also has regular-season matchups with No. 6 St. John’s, No. 10 Louisville, No. 20 Gonzaga, No. 21 Michigan State, and No. 25 North Carolina.
Safe to say the Cats have another loaded schedule. Here’s to hoping they’ll be ready for the path ahead.
Coaches Top 25 Poll
- Purdue (18 first-place votes)
- Houston (12)
- Florida (1)
- UConn
- Duke
- St. John’s
- Michigan
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Louisville
- Texas Tech
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Iowa State
- Kansas
- Gonzaga
- Michigan State
- Auburn
- Creighton
- Wisconsin
- North Carolina
Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina State 33; Oregon 26; San Diego State 15; Ohio State 15; Baylor 13; Virginia 11; Vanderbilt 10; USC 7; Texas 6; Villanova 5; Missouri 5; Ole Miss 4; Washington 3; Saint Mary’s 3; Iowa 3; Cincinnati 3; VCU 2; Oklahoma State 1; Kansas State 1; Boise State 1
