The Associated Press released its preseason top-25 rankings on Monday, and the Kentucky Wildcats, to some surprise, made the list. Mark Pope’s Wildcats came in at No. 23, trailing seven fellow members of the SEC. The entire list can be found here.

While it had to feel good for Pope to receive some recognition for the job well done by both he and his staff to put together a brand-new roster for Kentucky, the Wildcats were ranked quite a bit higher in the AP top-25 than in KenPom.

In fact, the KenPom rankings don’t exactly place a high value on the Wildcats in their current state — ranking Kentucky No. 42 on their preseason list.

A full breakdown of how KenPom views the Wildcats and how their season might go can be found here.

Though KenPom rankings are much more analytically driven than the AP top-25, at the end of the day, they’re all preseason rankings. It only matters what Pope and his team can do on the court once the regular season starts on November 4th against Wright State.

Let us know if you agree with the KenPom or AP top-25 ranking in the comments below.

Tweet of the Day

How about that?

Headlines

Kentucky LB Knows Changes Must Be Made Now – Vaught’s Views

He’s not wrong.

Rodón’s gem, HRs by Soto, Stanton spark Yankees to Game 1 win – ESPN

Pure domination.

Corey Peters Felt he Deserved to be in UK Athletics HOF – Vaught’s Views

Happy for him.

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (knee) uncertain for season opener – ESPN

No surprise here.

DB Dyllon Williams Flips from Missouri to Kentucky – KSR

A bit of good news for UKFB.

Bills beat New York in penalty-dominated game – CBS Sports

The Ref Show.

Stoops holds team meeting to discuss mistakes, accountability – KSR

Good for him.

Belichick: Jets’ firing of Robert Saleh was premature – CBS Sports

He didn’t hold back.