The Big 12 can claim the top two college basketball teams in the nation this week, but Kansas remains looking up at one of its conference foes in the latest AP Top 25, released Monday.
Baylor (15-0 overall, 3-0 Big 12) took over the No. 1 ranking in the country for the first time in program history, following Villanova’s loss at Butler this past week, while the Jayhawks (14-1, 3-0), who haven’t lost since their season-opener against Indiana, moved up a spot, as well, to No. 2.
Baylor received 55 first-place votes to KU’s eight. Villanova and UCLA also received one apiece.
Villanova, now 15-1, moved to No. 3, while No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Gonzaga give the rest of the top five a west-coast feel.
Kansas held the No. 3 ranking for five straight weeks before the shakeup at the top.
This week, the No. 1 Bears have a pair of serious road tests: playing at No. 10 West Virginia on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN 2), and at newly-ranked Kansas State on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).
No. 2 KU, meanwhile, travels to Oklahoma on Tuesday (8 p.m., ESPN 2), before returning to Allen Fieldhouse Saturday to face Oklahoma State (1 p.m., ESPN 2).
The Big 12 added a fourth team to the AP Top 25 this week, with Kansas State joining in, tied for 25th.
There are nine games this week between ranked teams. In addition to Baylor at West Virginia, the other game between top-10 teams is No. 7 Duke at No. 9 Florida State, on Tuesday.
The Atlantic Coast Conference leads the way with six ranked teams, while the Big 12, Big East and Pac-12 have four each.
The Big 12 is the only conference to have four different programs ranked No. 1 since 2010 — Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas.
No. 1 – Baylor
No. 2 – Kansas
No. 3 – Villanova
No. 4 – UCLA
No. 5 – Gonzaga
No. 6 – Kentucky
No. 7 – Duke
No. 8 – Creighton
No. 9 – Florida State
No. 10 – West Virginia
No. 11 – North Carolina
No. 12 – Butler
No. 13 – Oregon
No. 14 – Louisville
No. 15 – Xavier
No. 16 – Arizona
No. 17 – Purdue
No. 18 – Wisconsin
No. 19 – Virginia
No. 20 – Notre Dame
No. 21 – Saint Mary’s
No. 22 – Cincinnati
No. 23 – Florida
No. 24 – Minnesota
tie-No. 25 – USC
tie-No. 25 – Kansas State