Kansas up a spot to No. 8 in latest AP poll as Top-10 clash with K-State looms

By Matt Tait     Jan 30, 2023

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Kansas guard Gradey Dick (4) and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) compete for a rebound with Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell (1) during the first half on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 at Bramlage Coliseum.

It’ll be a Top-10 battle at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, when the Kansas State Wildcats come to Lawrence for a rematch of their win over the Kansas Jayhawks from two weeks ago.

Both teams remained in the Top 10 of the latest Associated Press poll on Monday, with K-State checking in at No. 7 overall and the Jayhawks landing at No. 8.

The Wildcats, who lost to Iowa State on the road and beat Florida at home, dropped two spots from No. 5. The Jayhawks, who lost at Baylor but responded by winning at Kentucky, jumped up a spot from No. 9.

In all, six Big 12 programs landed in the Top 15 this week, with KSU and KU leading the way, followed by Texas (10), Baylor (11), Iowa State (13) and TCU (15).

The Jayhawks will play K-State at home on Tuesday and then travel to Iowa State this weekend for a rematch with the Cyclones, who left Allen Fieldhouse on the wrong end of a 62-60 battle a couple of weeks ago.

After that, it’s Texas at home on Big Monday followed by two trips to the Sooner State to face Oklahoma on Feb. 11 and Oklahoma State three days later.

Tomorrow’s game with the Wildcats officially marks the midway point of the Big 12 Conference slate. After that, the Jayhawks will have nine games remaining until the start of the postseason.

KU is currently 17-4 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play, one game behind Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas, who currently sit at 6-2 in Big 12 play.

Texas played host to 5-3 Baylor tonight and Iowa State travels to Texas Tech.

As for the rest of the newest AP poll, Purdue returned to the top spot as this week’s unanimous No. 1 team, with Tennessee, Houston, Alabama, Arizona and Virginia occupying the six spots in front of the two Kansas schools.

Tipoff for Tuesday’s KU-K-State game is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN+.

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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.