For the second time during this young college basketball season, the Kansas men’s basketball program was jumped in the Associated Press poll without losing.
This time, however, the Jayhawks (5-0) did not fall, rather they stayed in the same spot they were in a week ago, despite No. 1 Duke losing.
Kansas, which won the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn last week, stayed at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 but watched Gonzaga jump from No. 3 to No. 1 behind the strength of its victory over former No. 1 Duke in the Maui Invitational title game.
Duke, meanwhile, fell back behind Kansas to No. 3.
The numbers show that this was no run-away from the Zags, who landed in the top spot with 1,590 points and 32 first-place votes.
Kansas, meanwhile, earned 1,584 points and 31 first-place votes.
The 1,584 points are the most Kansas has received in a single week this season, even more than the 1,581 the Jayhawks recorded in earning the preseason No. 1 ranking.
Duke and Virginia each received one first-place vote and landed at No. 3 and No. 4, with Nevada rounding out the Top 5.
Tennessee, which fell to Kansas in the title game of the NIT Season Tip-Off dropped a spot to No. 6, while Michigan State moved up two spots from No. 11 to No. 9, which gives Kansas two Top 10 victories already this season.
The strength of those two victories was foundation for the argument that KU belonged back in the No. 1 spot, which was where it opened the season. But evidently enough voters — just barely — believed that Gonzaga’s victory over a powerhouse Duke program that looked virtually unbeatable in destroying Kentucky at the Champions Classic earlier this month was worth more clout than two wins over Top 10 teams.
KU junior Dedric Lawson was asked about the Top 25 after KU knocked off Marquette in the NIT semifinals last Wednesday, and after first saying that he “definitely” thought KU deserved the top spot after Duke’s loss, Lawson backtracked when he learned it was No. 3 Gonzaga that beat the Blue Devils.
“Definitely, if they lost,” he said. “I think that’s what happens when you lose, you drop.”
When told that Duke’s loss — 89-87 — came to the No. 3 team in the country, Lawson laughed and quickly began backtracking.
“Oh, shout-out to Gonzaga,” he said with a smile. “Gonzaga is a pretty good team, as well. So I guess I’ll leave that to the professionals.”
Seems like a good idea. After all, Kansas coach Bill Self has never put too much stock into where his team is ranked in November and December and the Jayhawks, as a whole, seem concerned only with where they will be ranked at the end of the season.
Two Big 12 programs made the jump from unranked into the Top 25 this week, with Texas (5-1) soaring all the way up to No. 17 and Texas Tech (6-0) landing at No. 20.
Here’s a look at the rest of this week’s AP Top 25:
1 – Gonzaga (32)
**2 – Kansas (31)**
3 – Duke (1)
4 – Virginia (1)
5 – Nevada
6 – Tennessee
7 – Michigan
8 – Auburn
9 – Michigan State
10 – Kentucky
11 – North Carolina
12 – Kansas State
13 – Virginia Tech
14 – Iowa
15 – Florida State
16 – Ohio State
17 – Texas
18 – Oregon
19 – Purdue
20 – Texas Tech
21 – Buffalo
22 – Wisconsin
23 – Villanova
24 – Maryland
25 – Mississippi State
**Others receiving votes:** Arizona St 156, Clemson 135, Furman 72, Creighton 65, LSU 41, Indiana 35, UCLA 30, Iowa St. 22, St. John’s 19, Minnesota 17, Miami 10, TCU 8, Syracuse 8, Arkansas 6, Nebraska 6, Notre Dame 4, UConn 4, Florida 3, UCF 3, Houston 1, Davidson 1.
