Jayhawks jump three spots to No. 11 in latest AP Poll

By Matt Tait     Dec 26, 2017

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Sam Cunliffe (3) throws down a dunk off of a lob from Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) during the second half on Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Back-to-back victories over Omaha and Stanford last week led to some upward movement in the Associated Press poll for the Kansas men’s basketball team.

After dropping during each of the past two weeks — from No. 2 to No. 13 and then again from No. 13 to No. 14 – the Jayhawks began their climb back up this week, jumping three spots to No. 11 in the latest poll released on Christmas Day.

The top four spots in this week’s poll remained unchanged, with Villanova, Michigan State, Arizona State and Duke holding onto their positions.

Future KU foe Texas A&M started the change after that, jumping from No. 8 to No. 5 and the rest of the poll quickly features a heavy dose of Big 12 Conference flavor, with West Virginia landing at No. 7 (up from No. 10), TCU leaping to 10th (from No. 15) and Oklahoma soaring five spots up to No. 12, giving the Big 12 four teams in this week’s Top 12.

Baylor (No. 18) and Texas Tech (No. 22) also remained a part of this week’s poll while Texas and Oklahoma State continued to receive votes, making eight of the 10 Big 12 teams a factor in the voting.

All eight of those teams will square off against one another this week, as Big 12 play opens with Kansas heading to Texas for an 8 p.m. tip-off on Friday night to officially begin its quest for a 14th consecutive Big 12 regular season title.

TCU and Oklahoma will meet on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech play Friday in Lubbock, Texas, and West Virginia travels to Oklahoma State on Friday to kick off its conference schedule.

AP TOP 25, as of Dec. 25, 2017

1 – Villanova (43)

2 – Michigan State (16)

3 – Arizona State (6)

4 – Duke

5 – Texas A&M

6 – Xavier

7 – West Virginia

8 – Wichita State

9 – Virginia

10 – TCU

11 – Kansas

12 – Oklahoma

13 – North Carolina

14 – Purdue

15 – Miami, Fla.

16 – Kentucky

17 – Arizona

18 – Baylor

19 – Tennessee

20 – Gonzaga

21 – Cincinnati

22 – Texas Tech

23 – Seton Hall

24 – Florida State

25 – Creighton

Others receiving votes: Arkansas 85; Clemson 55; Notre Dame 40; Louisville 26; Texas 21; UCLA 12; Oklahoma State 8; SMU 5; St. Bonaventure 5; Auburn 5; New Mexico State 4; Rhode Island 2; Nevada 1; Stephen F. Austin 1; Florida 1; Michigan 1; Minnesota 1

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.