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NCAA Basketball: Duke, Purdue, Wisconsin rise in latest top 25 power rankings

Jan 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball over Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball over Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
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5. Kentucky (14-4)

What Kentucky is doing this season in Mark Pope’s first year at the helm is pretty impressive, especially when you consider how this roster came together mostly from the Transfer Portal. Roster construction doesn’t matter in January or February when the Wildcats are expected to get results and they’ve been doing their job for the most part. A few recent losses have been unnerving but Kentucky has the wins on a very impressive resume.

They got another notable win on Tuesday night, prevailing 81-69 against a strong Texas A&M squad. Jaxson Robinson had 22 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to another ranked win. This Kentucky team had quite the battle on Saturday, eventually losing 102-97 in a shootout against a Top 5 Alabama team. Otega Oweh scored 21 points, Lamont Butler had 17 points and 8 assists, and Kentucky really showed up on offense, but they’d fall just short to the hot-shooting Crimson Tide.

SEC play is a marathon of talented competition and Kentucky is really showing up even with those recent pair of losses. Being 3-2 in this league is more impressive than it sounds, especially since every of those opponents was ranked in this week’s poll. Moving forward, the Wildcats’ need even more production from both sides of the ball, especially after their defense allowed 100 points for a second time this month. Next Saturday sees a road trip against a suddenly intriguing Vanderbilt team.