Unbeaten Jayhawks jumped by Purdue in latest AP college basketball poll; KU still 3rd in coaches poll

By Matt Tait     Nov 22, 2021

Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard (11) drives past Kansas' Dajuan Harris (3) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Kansas men’s basketball team maintained its spot at No. 3 in the USA Today coaches poll but dropped a spot in the Associated Press poll to No. 4.

The movement had very little to do with anything the Jayhawks did last week and everything to do with Purdue’s convincing win at Villanova.

The Boilermakers jumped from No. 6 to No. 3 in the AP poll, coming in just behind top-ranked Gonzaga and second-ranked UCLA.

UCLA and Gonzaga will face each other in the Good Sam Empire Classic in Las Vegas.

Kansas (3-0) and Duke (5-0) rounded out the top five.

In its only game of the week last week, Kansas knocked off Stony Brook, 88-59, at home. Senior guard Ochai Agbaji topped the 20-point mark (with 25 points) for the third consecutive game to lead KU to its third victory of the season.

Next up, the Jayhawks are headed to Florida to open play in the ESPN Events Invitational outside of Orlando.

KU will play North Texas on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Depending on what they do in that game, the Jayhawks will play again on Friday against the winner or loser of the matchup between Dayton and Miami. The final round will take place on Sunday.

Tenth-ranked Alabama (4-0) is the highest ranked team on the opposite side of the bracket, setting up a potential top-10 showdown in the championship game if both teams are able to win two games to get there.

The Jayhawks are scheduled to leave for Orlando on Tuesday afternoon and will spend the rest of the week preparing for three games in four days.

AP Top 25

1 – Gonzaga, 4-0, 1,515 (55)

2 – UCLA, 4-0, 1,443 (5)

3 – Purdue, 5-0, 1,391 (1)

4 – Kansas, 3-0, 1,354

5 – Duke, 5-0, 1,225

6 – Baylor, 4-0, 1,154

7 – Villanova, 3-2, 1,090

8 – Texas, 3-1, 1,083

9 – Memphis, 4-0, 1,002

T10 – Alabama, 4-0, 880

T10 – Kentucky, 3-1, 880

12 – Houston, 3-0, 861

13 – Arkansas, 3-0, 754

14 – Illinois, 2-1, 624

15 – Tennessee, 3-1, 558

16 – St. Bonaventure, 5-0, 517

17 – Arizona, 5-0, 474

18 – BYU, 4-0, 449

19 – Auburn, 3-0, 374

20 – Michigan, 3-2, 367

21 – Seton Hall, 3-0, 363

22 – UConn, 4-0, 342

23 – Florida, 3-0, 294

24 – USC, 3-0, 138

25 – Xavier, 4-0, 102

Others receiving votes: Oregon 96, Virginia Tech 91, Ohio State 89, North Carolina 75, Indiana 45, Michigan State 44, Marquette 41, Colorado State 30, Maryland 28, Texas Tech 26, Iowa 6, LSU 6, Mississippi State 4, Florida State 4, Drake 2, San Francisco 1, Loyola Chicago 1, George Mason 1, Ohio 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.