Why Associated Press Top 25 poll may be good news for Kentucky basketball tournament hopes

Jon Hale | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Kentucky basketball: John Calipari proud of Nick Richards Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is proud of the work Nick Richards has put in heading into his junior season.

LEXINGTON – For the seventh time in 11 seasons at Kentucky, John Calipari will coach the No. 1 team in the nation.

Kentucky ascended from No. 2 to the top spot in the ranking Monday thanks to its win over No. 1 Michigan State in the season opener and its blowout of Eastern Kentucky Friday. The Wildcats received 64 of 65 first-place votes in the new poll. No. 4 Louisville received the other first-place vote.

"I kind of expected it, but at the end of the day it’s all about what we do at the end of the season," freshman forward Kahlil Whitney said of the ranking. "It’s a long process. We’ve just got to keep working."

The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 for the first time since Nov. 2016. Here’s a closer look at the previous times Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the Calipari era.

2016-17: Week 2-3

2015-16: Week 2-3

2014-15: Preseason-Week 18

2013-14: Preseason-Week 1

2011-12: Week 3-4; Week 11-18

2009-10: Week 11

EKU coach: UK will probably win title if Nick Richards plays like he did vs. Colonels

Being ranked No. 1 has not always guaranteed Kentucky postseason success, but five of Calipari’s previous six Kentucky teams to be voted to the top spot in the AP poll at some point in the season reached at least the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. Both teams that were ranked No. 1 for more than two weeks during the regular season reached the Final Four.

Kentucky has been ranked No. 1 in 22 seasons since the Associated Press started ranking teams in the 1948-49 season. Five of the seven UK national championship teams in the AP poll era were ranked No. 1 at some point in the regular season, including the 2012 championship squad that was ranked first for 10 weeks.

Five Calipari UK teams have been ranked No. 1 in November, but four of those teams fell out of the poll’s top spot by the second week of December.

"We’re so close that we talk about winning every day," Whitney said. "The rankings came out, we’re the No. 1 team in the country. We want to hold that for the rest of the year and win a national championship."

Only the 2014-15 team, which won its first 38 games before being upset by Wisconsin in the Final Four, carried a No. 1 ranking from November into SEC play. The 2012 title team ascended to No. 1 on Nov. 28 but dropped to No. 3 after a loss at Indiana in early December. It returned to No. 1 on Jan. 23 and remained there until the end of the season.

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Calipari’s Kentucky teams are 68-7 while ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. Only the 2009-10 team, which ascended to No. 1 after a 19-0 start then lost its next game at South Carolina, failed to win at least one game while ranked No. 1.

Barring a massive upset, Kentucky’s schedule sets up in such a way that the Wildcats will likely be ranked No. 1 until at least the middle of December.

Calipari’s track record suggests that long of a stint at No. 1 means a long NCAA Tournament might be on hand in March. Dealing with the spotlight as the top-ranked team will be its own challenge though.

"If they call us the best team in the country I think everybody is trying to take our heads off," Whitney said. "We’ve got to stay on our p’s and q’s."

Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/jonh.