NCAA Basketball: Duke, Illinois, and Virginia tumble in latest top 25 power ranking

15. Kentucky Wildcats

It was just one game for the Wildcats this week and even that didn’t go without drama. Florida A&M is one of the worst teams in the country but was able to stay within striking range for longer than fans were hoping. The final score was 88-68, led by a season-high effort from Cason Wallace, going for 27 points and nine assists. Oscar Tshiebwe had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick scored double figures off the bench.

Another thing of note was another change in the starting lineup, with Lance Ware and Chris Livingston moving into the frontcourt next to Tshiebwe, with Jacob Toppin getting 19 minutes off the bench. It’s another move from Coach John Calipari to shake up the rotations after some uneven play so far in the non-conference. One move in consideration could be to have Cason on the ball more and potentially have Sahvir Wheeler even come off the bench but that hasn’t been done yet.

It’s also notable that the teams’ best shooters, Reeves and Fredrick, both come off the bench in favor of a starting lineup that doesn’t have much shooting. That worked against Florida A&M but may not look good once SEC play comes.

Kentucky ends its non-conference play with Louisville on Saturday but actually has its first game of league play against Missouri on the road on Wednesday. After the shocking blowout over Illinois in the week prior, the Tigers should be taken seriously.