Following its 82-80 overtime win over previously-top-ranked Florida Saturday night, KU jumped Monday to No. 5 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.
The leap ahead in the polls comes a week after KU was dropped to 10th in the AP poll and 12th in the ESPN/USA Today poll following its home loss to Oral Roberts on Nov. 15.
In the AP poll, UCLA (4-0) grabbed the top spot, followed by Pittsburgh (6-0), Ohio State (6-0), Florida (6-1) and KU (5-1). The top five was a little different in the ESPN/USA Today poll, with Ohio State grabbing the top spot two days before they will take on North Carolina (seventh in the AP, sixth in ESPN/USA Today) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Following the Buckeyes in that poll, in order, are UCLA, Pitt, Florida and Kansas.
Florida stayed ahead of KU largely because of their dominance in non-conference games leading up to Saturday’s loss. In their 6-0 start, the Gators won by an average of 42.2 points per contest.
On the heels of that, sophomore forward Julian Wright, who registered 21 points and 10 rebounds in the win, was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.
Wright is the second active Jayhawk to earn the honors, with fellow sophomore Mario Chalmers having done so Feb. 13 last season. Wright was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the WEek as a freshman on Feb. 27.
For more on these stories, read tomorrow’s Lawrence Journal-World.
