College basketball rankings: Kentucky hears boos from Wildcats fans in loss to Gonzaga
UK dropped out of the Top 25 And 1 rankings after its blowout loss to Gonzaga to fall to 5-4
By
Gary Parrish
•
2 min read
A panel of both SEC and national media members submitted ballots back in October that, when tallied, identified Kentucky as a top-two team in the SEC. Technically, that's still on the table, if only because Kentucky, like every other SEC school, remains 0-0 in the conference.
But, boy oh boy, things are not looking good.
Did you see what happened Friday? Mark Pope's Wildcats missed their first 10 shots, didn't make a field goal until nearly nine minutes had elapsed from the game, and lost to Gonzaga 94-59 to fall to 5-4 on the season. Even if you didn't see it, you might've at least heard the boos coming from the pro-Kentucky crowd inside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.
They were LOUD.
Take a look at the scene at halftime, when the Zags took a 43-20 lead into the break. "Ugly" seems like a reasonable way to describe it.
This was truly unbelievable to witness
— Beezy (@Burke_Franklin_) December 6, 2025
Mark Pope and the Kentucky basketball team getting boo’d off the floor in Nashville. Home away from home for UK basketball.
What have you done, Mark. pic.twitter.com/5To5soUKqm
"All of the boos we heard tonight were incredibly well-deserved, mostly for me," Pope said. "We have to fix it."
And fast.
Thirty-three days into this season, there's really no debate. Kentucky is college basketball's most disappointing team -- mostly because the Wildcats, after being ranked ninth in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, have zero wins over programs ranked in the top 220 at BartTorvik.com and four losses coming by an average of 15.8 points, but also because the roster Pope and his staff assembled reportedly cost around $22 million.
Yes, each loss has come at the hands of a team included in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona remains No. 1 for the 17th consecutive day. Put another way, all four of UK losses fall in Quadrant 1. That's good, I guess. But UK having no good wins and four losses through its first nine games is undeniably bad, and the result is the WIldcats being removed from Saturday morning's Top 25 And 1.
Kentucky flunks latest test in blowout loss to Gonzaga as Mark Pope era approaches rock bottom
Cameron Salerno
Next up for Kentucky is Tuesday's game with North Carolina Central. After that, the Wildcats will play back-to-back contests against formidable power-conference opponents -- first next Saturday against Indiana at home inside Rupp Arena, then the following Saturday against St. John's in the CBS Sports Classic at Atlanta's State Farm Arena.
How will UK do in that stretch?
As always, we'll see.
But anything less than a 2-1 record over the next three games, at minimum, will keep the criticisms coming loudly, as Mark Pope, the captain of Kentucky's 1996 national championship team, is now deep into the biggest uncomfortable stretch of his still-young coaching career.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
LSU
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Motiejus Krivas finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 98-61 win over Norfolk State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 7-0 |
| 2 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 81-65 win at Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 8-0 |
| 3 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 101-61 win over Gonzaga. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday against Rutgers. | -- | 7-0 |
| 4 |  | Solo Ball finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Friday's 83-59 win over East Texas A&M. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Florida. | -- | 8-1 |
| 5 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 22 points and five assists in Wednesday's 91-60 win over Cal Baptist. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Clemson. | -- | 7-1 |
| 6 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 67-66 win over Florida. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Michigan State. | -- | 9-0 |
| 7 |  | Joshua Jefferson finished with 24 points and 10 assists in Wednesday's 132-68 win over Alcorn State. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Purdue. | -- | 8-0 |
| 8 |  | Coen Carr finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 71-52 win over Iowa. The Spartans' next game is Saturday against Duke. | -- | 8-0 |
| 9 |  | Graham Ike finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 94-59 win over Kentucky. The Zags' next game is Sunday against North Florida. | -- | 8-1 |
| 10 |  | Labaron Philon Jr. finished with 29 points and three assists in Wednesday's 90-84 win over Clemson. The Crimson Tide's next game is Sunday against UTSA. | -- | 6-2 |
| 11 |  | Henri Veesar finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 67-64 win at Kentucky. The Tar Heels' next game is Sunday against Georgetown. | -- | 7-1 |
| 12 |  | Trevon Brazile finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 89-80 win over Louisville. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Fresno State. | -- | 6-2 |
| 13 |  | Ryan Conwell missed 12 of the 16 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 89-80 loss at Arkansas. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Indiana. | -- | 7-1 |
| 14 |  | Melvin Council Jr. missed nine of the 13 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 61-56 loss to UConn. The Jayhawks' next game is Sunday against Missouri. | -- | 6-3 |
| 15 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 66-56 win over Notre Dame. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Florida State. | -- | 7-1 |
| 16 |  | Andrej Stojakovic missed six of the seven shots he attempted in Friday's 74-61 loss to UConn. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 6-2 |
| 17 |  | JT Toppin finished with 27 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 76-72 win over Wyoming. The Red Raiders' next game is Sunday against LSU. | -- | 6-2 |
| 18 |  | Nate Ament missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 62-60 loss at Syracuse. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Illinois. | -- | 7-2 |
| 19 |  | Pryce Sandfort finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 72-63 win over South Carolina State. The Cornhuskers' next game is Sunday against Creighton. | -- | 8-0 |
| 20 |  | Keyshawn Hall finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 83-73 win over NC State. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Arizona. | -- | 7-2 |
| 21 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 26 points and six assists in Wednesday's 88-69 win over SMU. The Commodores' next game is Dec. 13 against Central Arkansas. | -- | 9-0 |
| 22 |  | Oziyah Sellers missed six of the seven shots he attempted in Wednesday's 85-74 loss to Auburn. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday against Ole Miss. | -- | 4-3 |
| 23 |  | Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 25 points and three assists in Tuesday's 82-77 win at Oregon. The Trojans' next game is Saturday against Washington. | -- | 8-0 |
| 24 |  | Isaia Howard missed five of the six shots he attempted in Tuesday's 71-52 loss at Michigan State. The Hawkeyes' next game is Saturday against Maryland. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 25 |  | Tounde Yessoufou finished with 27 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 110-88 win over Sacramento State. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Memphis. | 1 | 6-1 |
| 26 |  | Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 23 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 78-69 overtime win at Boston College. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Texas Tech. | NR | 8-0 |
