25. Kentucky (16-7)
After some really brilliant basketball earlier in the season, the Wildcats have hit a bit of a snag in recent weeks. While the schedule has indeed gotten harder, Kentucky dropped four of their last seven games heading into this week, including recent home games against Florida and Tennessee. Surely Kentucky couldn’t actually lose three home games in a row at Rupp Arena?
We’ll get to that shortly, because the Wildcats started the week on the road, bouncing back nicely with a 109-77 slaughter at Vanderbilt. Kentucky made quick work of the SEC’s worst program, getting 24 points from Antonio Reeves and 20 off the bench from Rob Dillingham. Bizarrely enough, that third straight home loss did come on Saturday, as Kentucky fell 89-85 to Gonzaga in a rare February nonconference matchup. Reed Sheppard had 21 points for the Wildcats but the Bulldogs did enough down to stretch to leave Lexington with an important win.
Considered by some a Top 10 team just three weeks ago, the Wildcats are certainly going through a rough patch. Now Kentucky isn’t dropping games to bad teams; all of these recent losses have come against pretty solid opponents, but three straight home losses is just mindboggling. Kentucky will look to get back on track next week at home against Ole Miss but will certainly be underdogs next weekend at Auburn.