Back-to-back road wins over Oklahoma and Texas, coupled with a handful of losses by other teams in the Top 5 last week, cleared the way for the Kansas men’s basketball team to move back into the Top 5 of the Associated Press poll.
KU (14-3 overall, 4-1 Big 12) moved up three spots to No. 3 in Monday’s new poll and the Jayhawks now sit behind new No. 1 Baylor (15-1, 5-0) and second-ranked Gonzaga (20-1) in this week’s AP poll.
Gonzaga dropped a spot despite not losing, with Baylor receiving 33 first-place votes and 1,591 points from the 65-member media panel and Gonzaga receiving 31 first-place votes for 1,588 points.
Kansas received the only other first-place vote.
The nation’s last remaining unbeaten team, San Diego State (19-0), and Florida State (16-2) round out this week’s Top 5.
Baylor’s move into the top spot ties the record for most No. 1 teams in a single season (7) in the history of the AP poll, which dates back to the 1948-49 season. Seven different teams also were ranked No. 1 back in 1983.
**RUTGERS ON THE RISE**
The Scarlet Knights bounced back from a loss to Illinois by beating Indiana and Minnesota at home, running their record at the RAC to 13-0 this season — the best start in school history. That was enough to get Rutgers (14-4) into the poll at No. 24 for the first time since the final poll of the 1978-79 season. And with Seton Hall at No. 10, the state of New Jersey has two teams ranked for the first time since the Pirates were joined by Princeton in the last poll of the 1990-91 season.
**OTHER NEWCOMERS**
Iowa, which has been in and out of the poll all season, made the biggest jump back in at No. 19 after its win over then-No. 19 Michigan. The Hawkeyes were joined by No. 22 Arizona — which beat a ranked team in Colorado — and No. 25 Houston, which romped through SMU and then-No. 16 Wichita State last week.
**ON THE WAY OUT**
The Wichita State Shockers dropped all the way out after losing to Houston and Temple. The Wolverines also fell out, along with Big Ten rival Ohio State and Creighton, whose one-week stay ended with a loss early last week to Georgetown.
**BUCKEYES BUMMER**
No team has been falling as steadily as Ohio State, which was 9-0, was ranked in the top five and received first-place votes just six weeks ago. The Buckeyes have lost six of their last nine games, and five of their last six, to complete their tumble from the poll. Their lone victory in the last few weeks was against lowly Nebraska.
Complete AP Top 25:
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1 – Baylor, 15-1, 1,591 (33)
2 – Gonzaga, 20-1, 1588 (31)
3 – Kansas, 14-3, 1,470 (1)
4 – San Diego State, 19-0, 1,422
5 – Florida State, 16-2, 1,335
6 – Louisville, 15-3, 1,303
7 – Dayton, 16-2, 1,139
8 – Duke, 15-3, 1,065
9 – Villanova, 14-3, 1,055
10 – Seton Hall, 14-4, 1,034
11 – Michigan State, 14-4, 1,004
12 – Oregon, 15-4, 886
13 – Butler, 15-3, 867
14 – West Virginia, 14-3, 758
15 – Kentucky, 13-4, 755
16 – Auburn, 15-2, 637
17 – Maryland, 14-4, 525
18 – Texas Tech, 12-5, 399
19 – Iowa, 13-5, 398
20 – Memphis, 14-3, 394
21 – Illinois, 13-5, 280
22 – Arizona, 13-5, 225
23 – Colorado, 14-4, 154
24 – Rutgers, 14-4, 152
25 – Houston, 14-4, 151
**Others receiving votes:** Wichita State 94, LSU 83, Michigan 73, Northern Iowa 42, Ohio State 36, Stanford 28, Wisconsin 28, Penn State 24, Liberty 21, Florida 21, Arkansas 19, Virginia 13, Creighton 13, Duquesne 13, Purdue 9, East Tennessee State 6, Indiana 6, USC 4, Marquette 2, BYU 2, Harvard 1
*- The Associated Press contributed to this report.*