Does UK deserve to be a top-25 team?
The Kentucky Wildcats are falling hard after their upset loss to Seton Hall.
It’s not so much that Kentucky lost a game on a neutral court to a team that could contend for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
No, it’s the fact that Kentucky consistently looked average during their seven-game winning streak against mostly cupcake teams that had no business being within 15 points. Saturday was more of a confirmation that this Kentucky team simply isn’t good right now, which is why they’re falling in the polls.
The latest Coaches Poll as Kentucky down to the No. 18 spot. That 10-spot drop was the biggest any team suffered this week.
Gonzaga is no longer the No. 1 team after losing 76-73 to Tennessee on Sunday. Kansas is back to being the top team, followed by Duke, Virginia, Tennessee and Michigan. Fellow SEC team Auburn actually holds the No. 8 spot previously occupied by Kentucky.
Sports Illustrated actually gave Kentucky more respect then it probably deserves at No. 15.
The latest NBC Sports, The Athletic and CBS Sports rankings don’t include Kentucky. Neither does ESPN’s latest power rankings (only 16 teams). This comes after the Wildcats ranked in the 8-13 range of most rankings last week.
Perhaps the only ranking that really matters is the NCAA’s NET, which has Kentucky falling down to the No. 36 spot after rising to No. 17 last week. Seton Hall was actually ranked 105th before beating Kentucky, which brought them up to No. 90. That’s still a really bad loss that could haunt Kentucky come Selection Sunday, but thankfully, we’re still a ways away from the NCAA Tournament.
It’s clear this team needs as much time as it can get before the postseason begins.
Do you think Kentucky deserves to be a top-25 team right now?