After a two-week hiatus, the ballot breakdown blog is back. And at the right time.
For the first time all season, the Kansas men’s basketball team was not in the top-10 in the latest AP poll, which was released Monday afternoon. The Jayhawks were listed at No. 11 following their loss to Kentucky in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge this past weekend.
KU is in unfamiliar territory in this week’s poll, though the sky is certainly not falling. Kansas is still atop the Big 12 standings along with Kansas State and Baylor, as it travels to Texas at 6 p.m. tonight.
In fact, only three Big 12 teams are even ranked in the latest poll following the conference’s 6-4 clip against the SEC this past weekend. Kansas remains the highest at No. 11, while Texas Tech is ranked No. 16 and Iowa State is listed at No. 20.
**KU receives lowest ranking since Feb. 12, 2018**
You have to go all the way back to Week 15 of last year to find the last time the Jayhawks were not in the top-10.
Kansas was ranked No. 13 in that particular AP poll, which was released on Feb. 12, 2018. Only two voters listed KU in the top-10 on their ballots compared to 30 who did so this week, including a pair of votes for No. 8 from Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal and Brian Holland of WVLA-TC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It marked the first time all season that the Jayhawks are not in the top-10, a feat that they accomplished five times last year.
Kansas, which did not fall from the top-10 until Week 13 this year, was first ranked outside the top-10 in Week 6 (Dec. 11) last season. The Jayhawks were ranked No. 13 at the time, falling all the way from No. 2.
**One voter listed KU at No. 17**
On one ballot this week, Kansas was ranked as low as No. 17. It marks the team’s lowest ranking on any individual ballot, not counting Couch since he left teams unranked for not playing a true road game.
Lauren Brownlow of WRAL in Durham, North Carolina listed the Jayhawks at No. 17, which is three spots lower than any other AP voter this week.
It is the lowest ranking for KU since the team was ranked No. 18 in Week 15 of last year by both Carlos Silva of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal and Justin Jackson of the Morgantown Dominion Post.
Brownlow has been the lowest on the Jayhawks as of late, however. She had them at No. 15 last week, which was two spots lower than any other AP voter. Brownlow also had KU at No. 10 in consecutive ballots before that.
**Jayhawks have wins over three top-10 teams this year**
Despite all the negative ballot thoughts, the sky is not falling down on the Jayhawks.
This week is actually a good indication of that, as the top-10 features three teams that Kansas has defeated this season. Tennessee’s lone loss of the year came at the hands of Kansas in an 87-81 overtime contest in November. The Volunteers are now No. 1 with 48 first-place votes in the latest AP poll.
Michigan State is ranked No. 6 this week, where it has been for four consecutive weeks. The Jayhawks began the season off with a 92-87 win over the Spartans. KU also beat Marquette, which moved up to No. 10 this week, by a 77-68 margin during the nonconference slate.
Sure, all these wins came in the early part of the season. But it at least proves that Kansas has demonstrated the ability to beat some strong teams.
**AP Top 25 (Jan. 28, 2019)**
No. 1 – Tennessee
No. 2 – Duke
No. 3 – Virginia
No. 4 – Gonzaga
No. 5 – Michigan
No. 6 – Michigan State
No. 7 – Kentucky
No. 8 – Nevada
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Marquette
No. 11 – Kansas
No. 12 – Virginia Tech
No. 13 – Houston
No. 14 – Villanova
No. 15 – Louisville
No. 16 – Texas Tech
No. 17 – Purdue
No. 18 – Buffalo
No. 19 – LSU
No. 20 – Iowa State
No. 21 – Maryland
No. 22 – Mississippi State
No. 23 – North Carolina State
No. 24 – Wisconsin
No. 25 – Florida State
