The AP Poll was released today, and Kentucky basketball has jumped to number four after a wild feast week in which multiple top-10 teams lost. Some, like UCONN and Houston, lost more than once. Kentucky's undefeated season has propelled them into the top 5, and they will now be facing their toughest two-game stretch of the young season.
They play Clemson, who is not in the ranking but is currently receiving votes. They are 7-1 and will be looking to knock off Kentucky to boost their own score. The Tigers will have the opportunity to do it at home, which gives them a bit of an advantage. It will be Kentucky's first true road game.
The Wildcats then head to Seattle to take on the #7 Gonzaga Bulldogs in a hybrid-neural site. This means it's not Gonzaga's home, but it will be mostly Bulldogs fans, as Seattle is far closer to Spokane than Lexington. Many Gonzaga alumni live and work in the Seattle area.
The Wildcats have slowly risen in the AP Poll, but that's not the only place they are in the top 5. They rank among the best in the nation in multiple statistical categories.
Kentucky is top 5 in these stats:
#3 Assist/Turnover Ratio - 2.08
#2 Assists per game - 21.1
#1 Fast break points per game - 23
#1 Rebounds (Defensive) per game - 34.29
#4 Rebounds per game - 45
#2 Scoring margin - 28
#1 Scoring offense - 96.7
The Wildcats are proving that they are an elite team and will have an absolute gauntlet of a remaining schedule. They have the strongest strength of schedule in the remaining games. No other team has a tougher schedule going forward than Kentucky. The Wildcats only have three games left in Quad 3-4. This means almost all of the remaining schedule is Quad 1 or 2 games. Buckle up. The hard part of the season begins now.