Jayhawks drop to 5th in latest AP poll

By Matt Tait     Dec 23, 2019

Associated Press
Villanova's Collin Gillespie, center, goes up for a shot between Kansas's Udoka Azubuike, left, and Marcus Garrett during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Last Saturday’s 1-point loss to Villanova in Philadelphia cost the Kansas men’s basketball team four spots in the latest Associated Press rankings.

For the second time this season, the Jayhawks fell to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 following a loss.

The first time came after the season opener, when Kansas dropped from third to fifth following a 2-point loss to Duke in the Champions Classic in New York. And this time KU fell to fifth from the top spot, which was claimed by Gonzaga.

The Jayhawks (9-2) also fell to fifth in the USA Today coaches poll.

The Zags became the sixth team this season to hold the No. 1 spot, marking the most top-ranked teams before Jan. 1 in poll history. The record for most No. 1 teams in a single season is seven, set in 1982-83.

Ohio State, Louisville and Duke fill out the top four ahead of Kansas, with Oregon, Baylor, Auburn, Memphis and Villanova rounding out the Top 10.

The weekend victory was worth eight spots for the Wildcats, who jumped from No. 18 to No. 10 in this week’s poll.

Four Big 12 teams remained ranked this week, with KU and Baylor in the Top 10 and West Virginia and Texas Tech each moving up a spot from last week to Nos. 22 and 23, respectively.

The Jayhawks have now been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 208 consecutive weeks. The next closest active streak is Duke’s, at 71, and the Jayhawks are closing in on UCLA’s all-time record of 221 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25.

Kansas has been a Top 10 team in the AP poll in 158 of the last 193 AP polls.

The Bruins, who had their consecutive conference championships streak (13) bested by Kansas two seasons ago, put together their AP Top 25 run between 1967-80.

While the Jayhawks fell in the AP poll, the loss to Villanova did nothing to hurt their status in the KenPom.com rankings.

Fourth in the nation per KenPom entering last weekend’s game, the Jayhawks remained in the No. 4 spot on KenPom.com throughout the weekend, albeit with a slightly different adjusted efficiency margin.

Ohio State, Duke and Louisville occupy spots 1-3 in the most recent KenPom rankings.

Here’s the complete AP Poll for Dec. 23:

1 – Gonzaga, 13-1, 1,608 (54)

2 – Ohio State, 11-1, 1,520 (9)

3 – Louisville, 11-1, 1,460 (1)

4 – Duke, 10-1, 1,429 (1)

5 – Kansas, 9-2, 1,388

6 – Oregon, 10-2, 1,286

7 – Baylor, 9-1, 1,207

8 – Auburn, 11-0, 1,107

9 – Memphis, 10-1, 1,040

10 – Villanova, 9-2, 950

11 – Michigan, 9-3, 889

12 – Butler, 11-1, 853

13 – Maryland, 10-2, 785

14 – Michigan State, 9-3, 775

15 – San Diego State, 12-0, 763

16 – Virginia, 9-2, 595

17 – Florida State, 10-2, 583

18 – Dayton, 9-2, 541

19 – Kentucky, 8-3, 411

20 – Penn State, 10-2, 332

21 – Washington, 9-2, 326

22 – West Virginia, 10-1, 229

23 – Texas Tech, 8-3, 178

24 – Arizona, 10-3, 153

25 – Iowa, 9-3, 125


Others receiving votes:
Wichita State 112, Colorado 79, Xavier 68, DePaul 54, Indiana 45, Liberty 40, Utah State 36, Saint Mary’s 29, Marquette 28, Tennessee 24, Northern Iowa 23, Creighton 12, Purdue 11, Georgetown 9, Stanford 7, BYU 4, St. John’s 4, Virginia Tech 3, Seton Hall 2, East Tennessee State 1, Yale 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.