Jayhawks jump to No. 2 in latest AP Top 25

By Staff     Jan 9, 2017

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Josh Jackson (11) chases down a ball after knocking it loose from Texas Tech guard Keenan Evans (12) during the first half, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

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.

AP TOP 25 (Jan. 9, 2017)

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

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