Jayhawks remain 3rd in latest AP poll

By Matt Tait     Jan 27, 2020

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Kansas guard Tristan Enaruna (13) looks for a shot against the Tennessee defense during the first half, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2019 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The top seven spots in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll remained unchanged this week, with Baylor, Gonzaga and Kansas rounding out the Top 3 and receiving all of the first-place votes.

Baylor, which last week became the seventh different team to climb to the No. 1 spot this season, stayed on top and received 44 of the 64 first-place votes.

Gonzaga, which Baylor jumped a week ago despite the Zags not losing, stayed strong in the No. 2 spot and received 19 first-place votes. And Kansas remained in the bronze medal slot, picking up the lone remaining first-place vote.

KU now has been ranked in 213 consecutive AP Top 25 polls, bringing the Jayhawks closer to eclipsing UCLA’s all-time record of 221 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25.

The gap between the Bears and Zags actually increased this week. A week ago, Baylor received 33 first-place votes to Gonzaga’s 31.

**RISING**

Houston made the biggest jump in a week that featured only modest climbs or slides, rising four spots to No. 21. No. 20 Colorado moved up three spots, while No. 12 West Virginia, No. 13 Kentucky, No. 15 Maryland and No. 19 Illinois each rose two spots.
In all, nine teams moved up in this week’s poll.

**SLIDING**

Michigan State and Butler had the biggest slides of the week.
The Spartans — who started the year at No. 1 — fell three spots to No. 14 after losing at Indiana. The Bulldogs also fell three spots to No. 16 after losing to Villanova, the final loss in a three-game skid that had dropped Butler from No. 5 two weeks ago.

The other falls were Duke, No. 17 Auburn and No. 25 Rutgers inching down one spot.

**WELCOME (BACK)**

No. 22 LSU, No. 23 Wichita State and No. 24 Penn State were the week’s new additions, re-entering the poll after appearances earlier this season.

**FAREWELL (FOR NOW)**

Texas Tech (No. 18), Memphis (No. 20) and Arizona (No. 22) fell out of the rankings. The Tigers had been ranked all season, while this is the second time that the Red Raiders and Wildcats have fallen out of the poll.

**CONFERENCE WATCH**

The Big Ten had more than double the number of ranked teams than any other conference with six. The Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East and Southeastern conferences each had three. The Pac-12 and American Athletic conferences each had two as the only other leagues with multiple ranked teams.

**Here’s a look at this week’s complete poll:**

1 – Baylor, 17-1, 1,578 (44)

2 – Gonzaga, 21-1, `1,552 (19)

3 – Kansas, 16-3, 1,434 (1)

4 – San Diego State, 21-0, 1,408

5 – Florida State, 17-2, 1,318

6 – Louisville, 17-3, 1,277

7 – Dayton, 18-2, 1,163

8 – Villanova, 16-3, 1,110

9 – Duke, 16-3, 1,084

10 – Seton Hall, 15-4, 1,055

11 – Oregon, 17-4, 926

12 – West Virginia, 16-3, 874

13 – Kentucky, 15-4, 839

14 – Michigan State, 15-5, 751

15 – Maryland, 16-4, 650

16 – Butler, 16-4, 631

17 – Auburn, 17-2, 619

18 – Iowa, 14-5, 545

19 – Illinois, 15-5, 483

20 – Colorado, 16-4, 314

21 – Houston, 16-4, 296

22 – LSU, 15-4, 260

23 – Wichita State, 17-3, 161

24 – Penn State, 14-5, 114

25 – Rutgers, 15-5, 102

**Others receiving votes:** Creighton 59, Arizona 55, Texas Tech 33, Ohio State 16, Indiana 15, East Tennessee State 14, Northern Iowa 13, Memphis 11, USC 9, Rhode Island 6, Purdue 6, Florida 4, Arkansas 3, Saint Mary’s 3, Tulsa 3, SMU 3, Wisconsin 1, Akron 1, Harvard 1.

*- The Associated Press contributed to this report.*

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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.