The Kentucky Wildcats have made tons of history over the years, but usually for positive reasons.
Kentucky entered unfamiliar territory on Monday, as the team made a historic slide out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll after coming in at No. 8 last week. The fall from the rankings is the "biggest single-week drop from the rankings since they were expanded to 25 teams in 1990," according to ESPN.com.
The top three teams remained the same, with Indiana, Duke and Michigan being voted into the top spots. The Hoosiers received 45 first-place votes, while the Blue Devils earned 20. The top three also remained the same in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Kentucky won the national championship last season, but lost six players to the NBA last season, including Anthony Davis, who was the No. 1-overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets.
According to ESPN.com, it is the first time Kentucky has dropped out of the top 25 rankings under head coach John Calipari was since he was hired in 2009.
The team was ranked in the preseason poll of Calipari's first season and remained in the top 25 until this week. According to ESPN.com, "Duke has the longest current run in the poll -- 101 weeks which started with the preseason poll of 2007-08. Kansas has the second-longest run at 69 weeks."
Kentucky has only gone 4-3 this season and has lost two straight games to Notre Dame and Baylor. The team was ranked No. 3 two weeks ago before falling to No. 8 last week.
The Wildcats shot only 40 percent from the field in the 64-50 loss to the Irish on Thursday, including just 28 percent from 3-point range. The team wasn't much better against Baylor on Saturday, shooing only 30 percent from long range.
Guard Archie Goodwin is leading the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game, but the freshman struggled against Notre Dame, scoring only three points while shooting just 1-of-7 from the field.
Forward Nerlens Noel has been one of the most consistent players for the Wildcats, averaging 11.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Against Baylor Noel had 16 rebounds and has scored in double-digits in three of the past five games.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Missouri previously held the largest drop from the top 25 after falling from No. 9 to unranked on Jan. 10, 2011. Just last week, UCLA dropped from No. 11 to unranked, which is the third largest dropout of all-time.
According to ESPN.com, "Duke has the longest current run in the poll -- 101 weeks which started with the preseason poll of 2007-08. Kansas has the second-longest run at 69 weeks."
On the bright side for Kentucky, the team received another commitment from a talented high school player, as Karl Towns Jr. announced his intent to play for the Wildcats on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com.
"The first thing I have to say is that I'm going to reclassify to the year 2014," Towns, 17, said, according to ESPN.com. "The second decision I have to make is my university. The university I've decided to play for in the year 2014 is the University of Kentucky."
Calipari has proven to be an amazing recruiter at Kentucky, bringing in numerous No. 1 ranked freshman classes each season as his top players leave school to enter the NBA draft. Some names Calipari has lost over the years include John Wall, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and DeMarcus Cousins.
Duke has been gaining first-place votes on Indiana the past two weeks and defeated No. 4-ranked Ohio State 73-68 on Wednesday. The Blue Devils have defeated a number of high-ranked teams this season, including Kentucky and Louisville.
The Blue Devils have looked like the strongest in the country, ranking 28th in field goal percentage and 32nd in scoring, with 78 points per game.
Syracuse was fourth in the poll followed by Louisville, Florida, Ohio State, Arizona, Kansas and Gonzaga. Colorado fell out of the rankings, while Notre Dame moved in at No. 22 after defeating Kentucky last week.
The rest of the poll includes Cincinnati ranked 11th followed, by Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgetown, Creighton, San Diego State, New Mexico, Michigan State and North Carolina.
The last five teams in were UNLV, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Wichita State and North Carolina State.
