Cats hold No. 2 ranking, Bledsoe honored

Cats still second

After two road victories in Southeastern Conference play, the Cats (18-0, 3-0 SEC) remain at the No. 2 spot in the country.

Texas (17-0) also won two games this past week, and retains their No. 1 position in the new polls. The Longhorns and Wildcats are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the country.

The entire top five remained the same from last week. Rounding out the top five is Kansas (16-1), Villanova (16-1) and Syracuse (17-1).

Michigan State (15-3) moved up one position in the Associated Press top 25 to No. 6 after beating Iowa and Minnesota at home this past week. A pair of 20-point victories in Atlantic Coast Conference play moved Duke (15-2) up to No. 7. Tennessee, despite the loss of senior forward Tyler Smith, continues to rise up the rankings. The Volunteers (14-2, 2-0 SEC) are No. 8 this week. Rounding out the top 10 is Pittsburgh (15-2) and Kansas State (15-2) at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

Despite losing by two points in overtime on the road at Tennessee, Mississippi (13-4, 1-2 SEC) is still in the top 25. The Rebels check in at No. 22 this week. Mississippi State (15-3, 3-0 SEC) joins their in-state rivals in the top 25 at No. 23. The Bulldogs have won their three SEC games by a combined 10 points. Vanderbilt (14-3, 3-0 SEC) sits just outside of the top 25 at No. 26.

Bledsoe named SEC Freshman of the Week

As has been the norm on many of the Mondays this basketball season, a UK freshman has been honored.

This time it’s guard Eric Bledsoe who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. The 6-foot-1 guard out of Birmingham, Ala., averaged 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the Cats’ two road victories this past week against Florida and Auburn.

It’s the second time Bledsoe has been named SEC Freshman of the Week. Bledsoe also won the award after his play from the first week of the season.

In total, the Cats have won either SEC Freshman of the Week or SEC Player of the Week, eight of the 10 weeks this season. Bledsoe was named SEC Freshman of the Week during week one and week 10. Fellow freshman point guard John Wall was named SEC Freshman of the Week four consecutive times dating from week two to week five. DeMarcus Cousins was named SEC Freshman of the Week on week seven, and SEC Player of the Week the following week.