Despite a hard-fought road victory over Colorado on Jan. 5, the Kansas University men’s basketball team dropped a spot in the latest Associated Press poll.
The Jayhawks (9-2) defeated the Buffaloes, 77-62, in Boulder, Colo., but fell from No. 13 to No. 14 in Monday’s poll.
Oklahoma (10-1) was the highest ranked Big 12 Conference team, falling from No. 6 after losing, 86-59, to No. 1 Connecticut on Sunday. Texas (No. 18) and Texas Tech (No. 22) were the only other ranked Big 12 teams. Oklahoma State and Iowa State each received at least one vote also.
UConn held the top spot for a fifth straight week, receiving 52 first-place votes and 1,767 points from the national media panel. The Huskies won’t have it easy this weekend, either, when they visit No. 9 North Carolina, one of six matchups of ranked teams this week.
Duke (12-1) was No. 2 for a third straight week with four first-place votes and 1,689 points. Then came the changes, including first appearances in the poll this season by Texas Tech and Creighton.
The Huskies’ five-week run at No. 1 matches the longest from last season, which Arizona did twice. Connecticut’s longest run at No. 1 was a 10-week stretch in 1998-99, the season it won its only national title.
Stanford (13-0) and Wake Forest (11-0) each moved up a spot to third and fourth, respectively, with two victories apiece. They were the only other teams to receive first-place votes, Stanford with 11 and Wake Forest with five.
Kentucky moved from seventh to fifth, followed by Saint Joseph’s, Arizona, Louisville, North Carolina and Cincinnati.
Georgia Tech, a 103-88 loser at North Carolina on Sunday, dropped from No. 8 to No. 12, followed by Pittsburgh, Kansas, Florida, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, Wisconsin and Mississippi State.
The last five ranked teams were Marquette, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Creighton and Illinois.
Texas Tech (13-2) moved into the poll on a nine-game winning streak that followed losses to Georgia Tech and SMU. The Red Raiders, ranked for two weeks last season, opened Big 12 play Saturday with an 83-62 victory over Oklahoma State.
Creighton (12-0) became familiar with the Top 25 last season when it was ranked for the final 15 weeks. The Bluejays got as high as No. 10 and were 15th in the final poll. They enter this week’s rankings off a 78-67 victory over Drake.
Purdue (11-4), ranked the past six weeks, dropped out with a 71-61 loss to Iowa before bouncing back with a 58-54 win at Illinois.
Providence (8-3) moved into the rankings last Monday for the first time in almost three years, but two last-second losses knocked the Friars back out. They lost 79-77 in overtime to Texas last Monday on a shot at the buzzer by P.J. Tucker that had to be reviewed by the officials. On Saturday, Providence lost 65-64 to Rutgers on a 3-pointer by Herve Lamizana with less than a second to play.
Other ranked matchups this week are: Kentucky at Mississippi State and Wake Forest at Texas on Tuesday; Cincinnati at Marquette on Wednesday; and Wake Forest at Duke and Florida at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
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The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 11, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
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| Record | Pt | Pv | |
| 1. Connecticut (52) | 13-1 | 1,767 | 1 |
| 2. Duke (4) | 12-1 | 1,689 | 2 |
| 3. Stanford (11) | 13-0 | 1,647 | 4 |
| 4. Wake Forest (5) | 11-0 | 1,562 | 5 |
| 5. Kentucky | 10-1 | 1,477 | 7 |
| 6. Saint Joseph’s | 13-0 | 1,356 | 9 |
| 7. Arizona | 10-2 | 1,249 | 3 |
| 8. Louisville | 11-1 | 1,248 | 10 |
| 9. North Carolina | 10-2 | 1,146 | 12 |
| 10. Cincinnati | 11-0 | 1,136 | 11 |
| 11. Oklahoma | 10-1 | 973 | 6 |
| 12. Georgia Tech | 12-2 | 952 | 8 |
| 13. Pittsburgh | 16-0 | 926 | 15 |
| 14. Kansas | 9-2 | 923 | 13 |
| 15. Florida | 11-2 | 914 | 14 |
| 16. Gonzaga | 12-2 | 810 | 16 |
| 17. Syracuse | 11-1 | 806 | 17 |
| 18. Texas | 9-2 | 619 | 18 |
| 19. Wisconsin | 11-2 | 472 | 21 |
| 20. Mississippi St. | 13-0 | 388 | 22 |
| 21. Marquette | 11-2 | 294 | 23 |
| 22. Texas Tech | 13-2 | 240 | — |
| 23. Vanderbilt | 12-1 | 222 | 20 |
| 24. Creighton | 12-0 | 218 | — |
| 25. Illinois | 10-3 | 133 | 19 |
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Others receiving votes: Purdue 94, Seton Hall 27, Maryland 26, LSU 24, South Carolina 12, W. Michigan 12, Utah St. 8, Oklahoma St. 6, Charlotte 4, Memphis 4, N.C. State 3, Rice 3, Boston U. 2, Florida St. 2, Nevada 2, Boston College 1, Iowa St. 1, Kent St. 1, Providence 1.
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Hear Bill: Jan. 12 Big 12 Coaches teleconference