Photo by Vicki Graff
Monday morning brought significant news to the doorstep of the Kentucky Wildcats. First, freshman shooting guard Tyler Herro received South Eastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors. Herro averaged 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in leading the Wildcats to a 2-0 record last week. The Wildcats blew out Georgia in Athens before closing out a top-15 win at Auburn.
Herro’s success, companied by the efforts of his fellow Wildcats, saw Kentucky make a surge in the Week 12 Associated Press Top-25 rankings. After jumping from 18th to 12th last Monday, the Wildcats made their second-consecutive advancement in the rankings. This week, Kentucky is viewed as the eighth-best team in the country.
The Wildcats are ranked just ahead of this Saturday’s opponent, the Kansas Jayhawks, who sit at ninth. Auburn, who Kentucky took down this past Saturday, fell from 14th to just 16th which indicates how high the voters view the Wildcats.
Ahead of Kentucky are the following seven teams, in order:
1. Tennessee
2. Duke
3. Virginia
4. Gonzaga
5. Michigan
6. Michigan State
7. Nevada
This week, before the Wildcats see the Jayhawks on Saturday, Kentucky will host the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. By achieving another 2-0 week, Kentucky should be able to make their way into the top-5 of the AP rankings.
Tip-off for Tuesday night is set for 7 P.M. EDT with on-air coverage provided by 106.5 WKDZ radio.
