Cats move up to No. 3

With the loss of the previous No. 2 Villanova Wildcats, it was only fitting another group of Cats enjoy the benefits.

UK (22-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) moved up one spot to No. 3 in the newest version of the Associated Press top 25, and received two first-place votes.

Kansas (22-1)  remained at No. 1  in the land, with Syracuse (23-1) and UK moving up one spot to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Villanova (20-2) dropped two spots to No. 4, and West Virginia (19-3) moved up one spot to No. 5 after previous No. 5 Michigan State (19-5) lost back-to-back games on the road to Wisconsin and Illinois. The Spartans weren’t aided by the injury of starting guard Kalin Lucas.

Purdue (19-3) moved up to No. 6 this week and Georgetown (17-5) remained at No. 7 in the polls despite thumping Villanova. This is likely due to the Hoyas getting upset by South Florida earlier in the week.

Duke (19-4), Kansas State (19-4) and Michigan State round out the top 10.

Mississippi (17-6, 5-4 SEC), previously No. 25, fell out of the top 25 after losing to UK 75-85 on Feb. 2. Only two teams other than UK remain in the top 25. Tennessee (18-4, 6-2 SEC) moved up two spots to No. 12 this week and Vanderbilt (17-5, 6-2 SEC) checks in at No. 22 after losing to Georgia on Saturday.

The Cats are ranked No. 2 in the Coaches poll, receiving one first place vote.