For the first time in five years, the CU Buffs men’s basketball team is ranked.
The Buffs entered the AP Top 25 poll Monday three days after beating Arizona State 81-71 in a non-conference game at Shanghai, China. It marks the first time CU has been ranked since a six-week period during the 2013-14 season.
Meanwhile, a familiar face is at the top after Kentucky climbed to No. 1.
The Wildcats rose one spot after winning a 1-vs-2 matchup with Michigan State to open the season in the Champions Classic, followed by an easy win against Eastern Kentucky.
Kentucky (2-0) earned 64 of 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, marking the first time the Wildcats have reached No. 1 since early in the 2016-17 season.
This marks the seventh of coach John Calipari’s 11 seasons that the Wildcats have spent at least one week atop the AP poll. That includes 10 weeks during the 2011-12 season on the way to the national championship and a start-to-finish stay in 2014-15 as the Wildcats carried an unbeaten record to the Final Four, where they lost to Wisconsin.
Duke climbed two spots to No. 2 after beating Kansas in the Classic’s other top-4 matchup.
The Spartans fell to No. 3, followed by Louisville — which claimed the remaining first-place vote.
Kansas, North Carolina, Maryland, Gonzaga, reigning national champion Virginia and Villanova rounded out the top 10.
Florida took the week’s biggest tumble, falling nine spots to No. 15 after a loss to Florida State. Baylor fell eight spots to No. 24 after losing to Washington, which entered the poll at No. 20.
Purdue and VCU fell out of the poll.
