Only a few weeks ago, Kentucky knocked off Duke on a neutral floor to give the Wildcats their first statement win of the year. It was also Duke’s first loss of the year, and the Blue Devils are up to two total losses, also losing to Kansas. However, the AP Poll released today must have forgotten that game because somehow Duke is ranked #4 in the poll while Kentucky drops a spot to #5.
It’s not as if Kentucky has played a stretch of poor competition. The Wildcats are the only team that can boast two top-5 NET wins on its resume. They have beaten Gonzaga and Duke, who are ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Kentucky has only one loss on the season to the now-ranked #16 Clemson Tigers. It was in a true road venue with a hostile environment, and it shook the Wildcats enough to get them prepared to knock off the Zags a few days later in Seattle, Washington.
To be fair, it’s not that Duke has been playing nobodies. They have wins over Arizona, Auburn, and Louisville. Their only two losses were against a top-ranked (at the time) Kansas and 19th-ranked Kentucky (at the time). Kentucky is now a top-5 team and a good resume loss for Duke. Kansas has dropped two tenth after a disappointing week for the Jayhawks.
However, it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to put Duke higher than Kentucky, even with a win over Auburn. It only makes sense if there is a narrative among the AP voters that Duke is better than Kentucky, regardless of that outcome. There’s no way a Wildcats team should be penalized for losing to a 16th Clemson, but Duke doesn’t get penalized more for their two total losses.
All this being said, Kentucky fans will say, “Just win, and it won’t matter.” Simply, keep winning. This is true, especially with the SEC schedule coming. Kentucky’s conference has proven to be the best basketball conference in the country this season. They will have a schedule full of resume builders while Clemson is headed into a weak ACC conference.
