Kentucky basketball's history in the AP Poll

As all UK fans know, the Wildcats dominate in virtually every way (other than total titles...a distinction belonging to UCLA only because of one Sam Gilbert...but that's none of my business).

Let's check out some AP poll statistics, shall we?  This poll didn't begin until 1949, so it eliminates a few of UK's best seasons (1945-48). 

Most weeks at #1:

1) UCLA - 134
2) DUKE - 129
3) KENTUCKY - 124
4) NORTH CAROLINA - 110
5) KANSAS - 63
6) INDIANA - 54
7) CINCINNATI - 45
8) ARIZONA - 37
8) OHIO STATE - 37
10) UNLV - 32

Most weeks in top 5:

1) KENTUCKY - 453
2) NORTH CAROLINA - 426
3) DUKE - 381
4) KANSAS - 333
5) UCLA - 308
6) INDIANA - 179
7) ARIZONA - 143
8) OHIO STATE - 142
9) CINCINNATI - 126
10) LOUISVILLE - 125

Most weeks in top 10:

1) KENTUCKY - 674
2) NORTH CAROLINA - 654
3) DUKE - 636
4) KANSAS - 520
5) UCLA - 455
6) ARIZONA - 288
7) INDIANA - 282
8) LOUISVILLE - 281
9) SYRACUSE - 255
10) OHIO STATE - 225
10) ILLINOIS - 225

Most appearances in the AP Poll:

1) NORTH CAROLINA - 871
2) KENTUCKY - 856
3) DUKE - 767
4) KANSAS - 720
5) UCLA - 682
6) LOUISVILLE - 616
7) INDIANA - 554
8) SYRACUSE - 547
9) ARIZONA - 513
10) ILLINOIS - 445

If you weight each of these evenly...

1) KENTUCKY - 37 points
2) NORTH CAROLINA - 35 points
3) DUKE - 33 points
4) UCLA - 28 points
5) KANSAS - 27 points
6) INDIANA - 18 points
7) ARIZONA - 14 points
8) LOUISVILLE - 9 points
9) OHIO STATE - 7 points
10) CINCINNATI - 6 points

UK headed back to #1...a few AP poll statistics

This week should be UK's 92nd appearance at #1 in the AP poll.  That total trails UCLA (134), Duke (122) and UNC (108).  So to those who say "I don't want to be #1 until April," I understand the sentiment but it'd be nice to catch up somewhat in this statistic.  Also, fear not: UK has a solid 152-25 record all-time at #1, which is an 85.9% winning rate.

Obviously being #1 makes us even more of a target.  The teams who've knocked us off our perch most often:
Vandy (4 times)
St. Louis (3)
Georgia Tech (3)
Indiana (2)
Mississippi State (2)

Title seasons during which UK was ranked #1: 1949, 1951, 1978, 1996 (but not in '48, '58 or '98)

By my count this is the 9th different season during which UK lost and then regained the #1 ranking.  Three of the previous times, the ranking was lost without an actual loss on the court...pollsters just got tired of the Cats, I suppose.  And three of the previous eight occurrences were during title years - '51, '78, and '96.

This is the 18th season and 24th different calendar year with UK rated as #1.

Thanks again to Jon Scott's site (http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/statistics.html) as one of the main resources for questions like this.  I also consulted collegepollarchive.com for this post.