Kentucky ranked 2nd in CBS Sports’ college hoops power rankings

The Kentucky Wildcats took a nine-point deficit into the half Tuesday night in the second game of the Champions Classic. They were looking unorganized throughout much of the half, especially after cooling off from deep.

The second half was a completely different story, as they dominated on the defensive end, holding the Blue Devils to just 26 points while forcing key turnovers late en route to a 77-72 victory. It marked the first signature win of the Mark Pope era.

The Cats, who won their first two games of the season against Wright State and Bucknell, are now 3-0 and suddenly have a very positive outlook moving forward.

While they shouldn’t be expected to be this high in the AP and Coaches Poll when those come out early next week, the Wildcats are ranked second in the first college basketball power rankings by CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone.

“It took all of three games for Mark Pope to capture a signature victory at Kentucky. UK outlasted No. 6 Duke on Tuesday in the Champions Classic, nailing 10 3s in the win and downing Duke despite a huge game from Blue Devils freshman phenom Cooper Flagg,” Boone wrote.

Kentucky won its first game by 41 and followed that up with a 28-point win. In its last game against Duke, it shot an impressive 10/25 from deep, though they only hit

The Cats also shot better from the field and from the free-throw line. They’ve certainly earned a big jump and should move into the top 10 in all major polls next week.