Kentucky Wildcats Removed from AP Top 25 Poll After 1-3 Start

The Kentucky Wildcats are having one of the worst starts they have ever had to an NCAA season. Coach John Calipari and his students haven’t been able to find a rhythm on the court, losing three consecutive games. The highly touted Kentucky team, formed of all top high-school recruits, is failing to deliver at the college level.

Many people argue that teams like the Kentucky Wildcats benefit from media biases due to how established they are. It is a historically successful college team, and many poll-makers keep that heritage in mind while evaluating them. However, there is no reason to keep that heritage in mind while evaluating the present.

The Associated Press in their Week 3 rankings dropped Kentucky off completely. The college was 20th last week and came into the season as the tenth best team. This fall has been dramatic and uncharacteristic of the team, but will Coach Calipari turn it around?

Kentucky Wildcats: The road ahead may be better?

Outside of analyzing fixtures, it is hard to project where Kentucky goes from this start. Since their first loss, the expectation has been that they will turn it around next game. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening. But this is one of the best-run college programs in the country. What is going wrong here?

The team is simply too inexperienced and are going up against teams that have been playing together for years. Their eclectic group of high-ceiling freshmen may not translate into results for this year. The players are talented, so the finger will be pointed at Calipari for not giving them the right circumstances to succeed in.

But one thing that holds true every season in how people evaluate other teams is whatever they do last. The last few things we have seen from Kentucky have been dreadful, and that is why they are getting panned and dropped from rankings. However, the tale could be very different next week if the team figures out a way to string together a few consecutive wins.

College rankings are transient, but Kentucky should be worried about the state they are in. Hopefully, they turn it around and start showing why they have the legacy that they do.