Kentucky is one step closer to re-establishing itself as the No. 1 team in the nation.

The Cats continued their climb to the top by moving to No. 3 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. UK bumped Villanova out of the No. 3 ranking thanks to marquee victories vs. Connecticut and Indiana, and a Villanova loss to Temple.

UK picked up a first-place vote in both polls. Kansas remained No. 1 and Texas stayed at No. 2 in the rankings.

Four Southeastern Conference teams (UK, Tennessee, Florida and Ole Miss) garnered each poll.

Both polls available below (first-place votes in italics):

Associated Press Poll 1. Kansas (61) 9-0 1,620  2. Texas (1) 8-0 1,512  3. Kentucky (1) 10-0 1,486  4. Purdue 9-0 1,426  5. Syracuse (2) 10-0 1,388  6. West Virginia 7-0 1,315  7. Duke 7-1 1,137  8. Villanova 9-1 1,107  9. Tennessee 7-1 1,104 10. North Carolina 8-2 1,039 11. Georgetown 8-0 1,008 12. Michigan State 8-2 922 13. Florida 8-1 864 14. Connecticut 6-2 762 15. Gonzaga 8-2 505 16. Texas Tech 9-0 492 17. Kansas State 9-1 391 18. Ohio State 7-2 383 19. New Mexico 10-0 364 20. Mississippi 8-1 334 21. Butler 7-3 257 22. Georgia Tech 6-1 253 23. Texas A&M 8-2 221 24. Washington 6-2 179 25. Cincinnati 6-2 174

ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll 1. Kansas (9-0) 774 (30) 2. Texas (8-0) 735  3. Kentucky (10-0) 701 (1) 4. Purdue (9-0) 675  5. Syracuse (10-0) 658  6. West Virginia (7-0) 631  7. Duke (7-1) 547  8. Tennessee (7-1) 528  9. Villanova (9-1) 524  10. North Carolina (8-2) 497  11. Georgetown (8-0) 494  12. Michigan State (8-2) 423  13. Florida (8-1) 367  14. Connecticut (6-2) 358  15. (tie) Georgia Tech (6-1) 229  15. (tie) Gonzaga (8-2) 229  17. Butler (7-3) 184  18. Ohio State (7-2) 176  19. New Mexico (10-0) 164  20. Texas Tech (9-0) 150  21. Washington (6-2) 146  22. Kansas State (9-1) 136  23. UNLV (7-1) 112  24. Clemson (8-2) 110  25. Mississippi (8-1)