The Kentucky Wildcats have a full week off following Tuesday night’s big victory in the Champions Classic over the Duke Blue Devils. With no games for a few days, we’re looking ahead to the release of the next college basketball rankings on Monday.

Kentucky will undoubtedly rise in the rankings from their #19 spot in the AP and #18 spot in the Coaches Poll.

The question becomes, how high should the Wildcats rise in the rankings?

Obviously, a major factor in the ratings would be how the teams ahead of Kentucky perform. There are some matchups to keep an eye on this weekend in that regard: (2) Alabama plays at (13) Purdue, (15) Marquette plays at Maryland, (9) Arizona plays at Wisconsin, and (16) Indiana hosts South Carolina.

Regardless of any other outcomes, it would be hard to keep Kentucky out of the top 15 after taking down Duke. We recently saw Auburn jump six spots in the AP Poll after defeating previously 4th-ranked Houston, so if I had to guess, we’d see Kentucky rise 4-6 spots.

Where do you think Kentucky should be ranked when the new polls are released? Let us know in the comments section!

Tweet of the Day

Excited for Jasper to be in Blue & White.

Headlines

Pope making the right moves even after the game ends – Vaughts Views

A cool gesture by Pope.

Brad White wants to see pride in performance from UK Defense – KSR

The defense will face some challenges in the last three games.

UK Football loses its first commitment of the ‘25 class – Cats Pause

Ja’kayden Ferguson is opening things up after visiting LSU.

Georgia Amoore named to Wade Trophy watchlist – UK Athletics

She’s been off to a great start this season.

Ansley Almoner ready to prove he belongs in the SEC – Courier Journal

He’s already shown some good things with his shooting ability.

New UK WBB commitment is a “deadly shooter” – Herald Leader

Big get for Kenny Brooks.

Mark Pope sparks Kentucky revival with win over Duke – CBS Sports

Some praise for Mark Pope.

NCAA President says there’s room for tournament expansion – Bleacher Report

Expanding to 72 or 76 seems likely.

Aaron Rodgers thinks he’ll play again next year – ESPN

He’ll soon be 41 years old.

Colts going back to Anthony Richardson – Yahoo

The 2nd-year QB was benched in favor of Joe Flacco the last two games.

Popovich expected to make full recovery after suffering stroke earlier this month – CBS Sports

Hopefully a full and quick recovery for Pop.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia isn’t striving to play from behind, but that method has done nothing to harm the Mountaineers through a pair of matches in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

On Wednesday, the top seed Mountaineers allowed No. 4 seed Kentucky to score 2:15 into the contest at Dick Dlesk Stadium, creating an early deficit for the home team.

Less than 3 minutes later, Sergio Ors Navarro provided the equalizer, and the WVU defense buckled down the rest of the way, while Carlos Hernando scored what proved to be the winning goal less than 10 minutes into the second half as the Mountaineers picked up the program’s first win over Kentucky in six tries, 2-1.

“The goal didn’t phase us and we got the equalizer very quickly, but incredibly proud with the quality of performance tonight. Really professional and mature at times and some really nice football at times and felt we were dominant the entire way through,” WVU head coach Dan Stratford said. “The way the guys approached the game and the quality and brand of football the guys played, we very much deserved to win this.”

The result allows West Virginia (12-1-6) to welcome Marshall for Sunday’s Sun Belt title game. It’s a rematch of last year’s final, which the Herd won, 3-2. Marshall blanked James Madison 1-0 in the other Sun Belt semifinal Wednesday.

“It’s the game we wanted,” Stratford said. “It’s the best RPI game and the best chance of us squeaking us into the top 8 from a RPI perspective and hopefully having as many home games as possible in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the type of game you want to play in.” 

After rallying from a 2-0 first-half deficit for a 3-2 victory over Georgia Southern in Sunday’s Sun Belt quarterfinal, West Virginia was again forced to play from behind after UK’s Logan Dorsey made the most of extended space after receiving a pass, maneuvered around the Mountaineer defense and blasted a shot with his right foot that got by Marc Bonnaire.

WVU got even 4:55 into the match following a corner kick taken by Frederik Jorgensen that was initially touched by teammate Felix Ewald and wound up off the head of Sergio Ors Navarro and into the back of the net.

It was the 14th goal this season for both Dorsey and Ors Navarro.

“We started the game well and it helps to have such a mature group that has been in this position before,” Stratford said. “It’s something that hasn’t phased us. I assure you it’s not the game plan, but this group has shown time and time again they’re capable of showing really good resilience and coming through adverse moments like this.”

Neither team scored again for the remainder of the first half, though the Mountaineers generated more quality chances.

“We felt like we were the better team. We felt like we had played well. I didn’t feel like a great deal needed to change,” Stratford said. “There were some minor details and the alertness and awareness in some of our communication to nullify their capacity to get behind us or nullify moments where we would lose territory and we’re defending a long throw with a difficult wind. Those details are really important against a team with Kentucky’s athleticism and size. The message was kind of stay the course and continue to trust that the longer the game goes on, the more our depth and energy levels will kick in and we’ll be the team that finishes stronger.”

Jorgensen delivered another gem off a set piece to give WVU its first lead less than 9 minutes into the second half. This time, Jorgensen sent a ball into the box on a free kick and it found the head of Carlos Hernando, who made the most of the golden opportunity and sent it past UK goalkeeper Casper Mols.

“We’ve never beat Kentucky as we talked about,” Jorgensen said. “You could tell from everybody today we wanted to beat Kentucky and be in that final Sunday. It’s a little sweet that it’s against Marshall. We want to beat Marshall at home in the final and get that revenge from last year.”

It marked WVU’s second goal off a set piece in the match and its third goal off a set piece over its last two games.

“Two games ago, we ripped up everything we were doing and started again,” Stratford said of the team’s approach to set pieces. “Sometimes you just have to give a fresh pair of eyes to it and for the players to see it that way as well.” 

Bonnaire stopped one shot and Mols made two saves.

The Wildcats fell to 6-6-6. They entered the match 3-0-2 all-time against the Mountaineers.

Kentucky’s 2024 season has not gone as planned. The Wildcats only have three wins in nine outings with a 0-4 record in SEC games at Kroger Field. This team has lost outright as a betting favorite four times but has also gone toe-to-toe with top-15 teams three times, including a road win over Ole Miss that continues to look better. Injuries are piling up, and two more games against top-20 foes remain on the schedule.

It’s been a tough year for Kentucky. Leaving the bye week, the Wildcats will host FCS Murray State in the penultimate home game of the season. The offense will be looking to build off some of the good things accomplished in the last outing against top-10 Tennessee.

“I think we know exactly the heart of this team and the fight of this team. Again, I think they played extremely hard. We’re probably a couple plays away from getting that one done. A work in progress, obviously. Constant state of improvement,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said on Tuesday. “I thought there was a lot of good things in that game. We, just from a consistency standpoint, have gotta get that stuff done to finish a game.”

“The focus is on us playing good football and continuing to find the identity.”

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That identity is beginning to include some younger players as Malachi Wood, Jamarion Wilcox, and Hardley Gilmore IV have all stepped into bigger roles in recent weeks. Kentucky is not ready for a full-on youth movement as the goal is to give the team the best chance to win football games on Saturdays, but it’s clear the coaching staff is willing to try something different. True freshman quarterback Cutter Boley received a ton of reps with the first unit last week and is expected to get extended game action on Saturday.

Kentucky is looking for answers and attempting to fix all the mistakes plaguing the offense all season. However, this is a group that has not quit yet. The Wildcats have continued to go back to work and are fighting through this tough slump.

“I’ve been super fortunate of this group. I really have. I mean they are out there today ready to get back to work just like they have been all year,” Hamdan said. “I’ve been appreciative of those guys and their buy-in, and I think it speaks volumes of the culture of this program.”

How strong is that culture? We got a positive answer with how Kentucky performed against Tennessee. Will that effort translate into the last three weeks of the season after another bye week? Stay tuned.