Jayhawks drop 3 spots to No. 13 in latest AP Top 25

By Matt Tait     Feb 12, 2018

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Baylor Bears forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (0) flexes next to Kansas forward Mitch Lightfoot (44) after a bucket during the first half, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2018 at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

After a steady climb up the polls to open Big 12 play, the Jayhawks suddenly are headed in the opposite direction.

Ever since climbing back into the Top 5 in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll during Week 12, the Jayhawks have fallen in three consecutive weeks, first dropping to No. 7, then to No. 10 and this week to No. 13.

The fall out of the Top 10 comes on the heels of a weekend loss to Baylor in which the Jayhawks suffered their largest defeat of the season (16 points) and also scored a season-low 64 points in the process.

The Jayhawks remain one of four Big 12 teams ranked in the Top 25 but only Texas Tech — 21-4 overall, No. 7 in the country and in first place in the conference — seems to be headed in the right direction, with No. 20 West Virginia falling a spot after their loss to Oklahoma State and No. 23 Oklahoma falling six spots after their loss to Iowa State.

Virginia jumped up to the No. 1 spot this week, taking over the slot previously held by Villanova, which fell to third. Michigan State (2nd), Xavier (4th) and Cincinnati (5th) round out this week’s Top 5.

The Jayhawks will look to begin their climb back up the polls this week at Iowa State on Tuesday night. The Cyclones have won their last four Big 12 home games by an average of 13 points over the likes of Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Baylor.

Tip-off on Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

**Here’s a look at this week’s complete Top 25:**

1 – Virginia (30), 23-2

2 – Michigan State (21), 24-3

3 – Villanova (9), 23-2

4 – Xavier (5), 23-3

5 – Cincinnati, 23-2

6 – Purdue, 23-4

7 – Texas Tech, 21-4

8 – Ohio State, 22-5

9 – Gonzaga, 23-4

10 – Auburn, 22-3

11 – Clemson, 20-4

12 – Duke, 20-5

13 – Kansas, 19-6

14 – North Carolina, 19-7

15 – Saint Mary’s, 24-3

16 – Rhode Island, 20-3

17 – Arizona, 20-6

18 – Tennessee, 18-6

19 – Wichita State, 19-5

20 – West Virginia, 18-7

21 – Texas A&M, 17-8

22 – Michigan, 20-7

23 – Oklahoma, 16-8

24 – Nevada, 21-5

25 – Arizona State, 19-6

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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.