Jayhawks move past UCLA on all-time consecutive AP polls list while dropping to No. 7 this week

By Matt Tait     Nov 30, 2020

article image
Kansas players Marcus Garrett and Mitch Lightfoot defend a shot during a game against Saint Joseph's on Friday Nov. 27, 2020. The Jayhawks earned a 94-72 win over the Hawks in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.

Another all-time NCAA basketball streak now belongs to Kansas.

The KU men’s basketball program dropped a spot in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 — from No. 6 to No. 7 — but in doing so still was ranked for the 222nd consecutive week.

That breaks a tie at the top with UCLA for consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll. The Bruins were ranked in 221 straight polls from 1966-80.

KU now has passed UCLA for consecutive regular season conference titles (14, from 2005-2018) and consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll. Unlike that first one, which was snapped during the 2018-19 season, the Jayhawks can still add to this one in the weeks ahead.

There’s no telling when this streak will end, but even when it does KU figures to stay at the top for a long time. Sixth-ranked Duke is currently second on the active list, having been ranked in the last 85 AP polls.

KU dropped a spot in the AP preseason poll after losing its season opener to No. 1 Gonzaga on Thanksgiving and bouncing back a day later with a 22-point win over Saint Joseph’s.

The Jayhawks (1-1) will now take on Kentucky on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

John Calipari’s Wildcats lost to Richmond at home on Sunday and the result of that game was reflected in this week’s AP poll, with the ‘Cats falling from No. 10 to No. 20 and Richmond jumping into the poll from unranked to No. 19.

Four of the top 10 teams in the country lost during the opening week of the 2020-21 season, with KU, No. 3 Villanova, No. 4 Virginia and Kentucky all going down.

As a result, Gonzaga maintained its spot at the top of the poll and now has 57 of the 63 first-place votes. Baylor stayed at No. 2 and received the other six first-place votes.

Big Ten programs Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois rounded out this week’s top five.

AP Top 25
——

1 – Gonzaga, 2-0, 1,569 (57)

2 – Baylor, 2-0, 1,513 (6)

3 – Iowa, 2-0, 1,410

4 – Wisconsin, 2-0, 1,287

5 – Illinois, 3-0, 1,281

6 – Duke, 1-0, 1,185

7 – Kansas, 1-1, 1,169

8 – Michigan State, 2-0, 1,028

9 – Creighton, 1-0, 981

10 – Houston, 3-0, 949

11 – West Virginia, 3-0, 943

12 – Villanova, 2-1, 939

13 – Tennessee, 0-0, 878

14 – North Carolina, 1-0, 591

15 – Virginia, 1-1, 581

16 – Virginia Tech, 3-0, 570

17 – Texas, 1-0, 478

17 – Texas Tech, 2-1, 478

19 – Richmond, 2-0, 382

20 – Kentucky, 1-1, 363

21 – Oregon, 0-0, 338

22 – Florida State, 0-0, 304

23 – Ohio State, 2-0, 282

24 – Rutgers, 3-0, 252

25 – Arizona State, 2-1, 233

**Others receiving votes:** Michigan 90, San Diego State 86, Saint Louis 69, Louisville 55, Alabama 52, Florida 45, Indiana 38, UCLA 14, Maryland 9, Providence 7, Stanford 7, Connecticut 6, Clemson 4, LSU 3, Arkansas 2, Loyola Chicago 1, TCU 1, Colorado 1, BYU 1

PREV POST

KU women's basketball team cruises to 42-point win

NEXT POST

55151Jayhawks move past UCLA on all-time consecutive AP polls list while dropping to No. 7 this week

Author Photo

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.