NCAA Basketball: Tennessee, Baylor, Illinois rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
20. Kentucky (18-7)
What exactly is the story with this Kentucky program? John Calipari has built yet another talented squad down in Lexington, but the results haven’t always been there. The Wildcats entered this week not only having lost four of their last six games but also on a mind-boggling three-game home losing streak. They aren’t exactly losing to bad teams, though the Wildcats will get on track at some point right?
Thankfully, Kentucky broke that home losing streak, prevailing 75-63 over Mississippi back on Tuesday night. Antonio Reeves had 15 points and 7 rebounds while Reed Sheppard had 13 points and 5 assists off the bench. Their weekend performance was even more impressive, as the Wildcats won 70-59 on the road against a strong Auburn team on Saturday. Another nice outing from Reeves (22 points) carried the Wildcats, who also got 14 points and 8 rebounds from Adou Thiero.
They got back on track at Rupp Arena and then beat a Top 15 team on the road. Kentucky has certainly been more down than up in recent weeks but certainly changed that trajectory with a pair of key performances. The defense has helped carry the load for the Wildcats this past week and they’ll hope for more of that ahead. What looms ahead is a road test against a feisty LSU before an important home date with Alabama next weekend.