Back-to-back road losses to No. 2 Baylor and now-No. 24 Oklahoma cost the Kansas men’s basketball team six spots in this week’s Associated Press Top 25.
The Jayhawks, who have lost three consecutive games since opening the season 10-2, fell from No. 9 to No. 15 in the latest AP poll released Monday.
Despite the drop, the Jayhawks added to their NCAA record of consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25, which now sits at 230. This week is the first this season in which Kansas (10-5 overall, 4-4 Big 12) has not appeared in the top 10.
The Jayhawks were one of three teams to experience significant falls in this week’s poll, with Tennessee dropping 12 spots from No. 6 to No. 18 after back-to-back losses to unranked Florida and then-No. 19 Missouri and Creighton dropping six spots from No. 11 to No. 17.
Mizzou’s win over the Volunteers propelled the Tigers to the No. 12 spot in this week’s poll.
KU, of course, defeated Creighton earlier this season, when both teams were ranked in the top 10, and the Jayhawks will play at Tennessee this weekend in this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which is slated for 5 p.m. on ESPN from Knoxville, Tenn.
Prior to that, KU will return to Allen Fieldhouse for a Thursday game with TCU. Tipoff for that one is set for 7 p.m. on Big 12 Now via ESPN+.
Oklahoma’s win over the Jayhawks pushed the Sooners into this week’s poll, moving OU from unranked to No. 24. And Oklahoma State is still just on the outside of the top 25, receiving 49 votes this week and sitting in the No. 30 spot.
Two other Big 12 schools moved up this week, with Texas Tech climbing from No. 12 to No. 10 and West Virginia jumping from No. 14 to No. 11. Kansas has wins over both programs already this season.
Top-ranked Gonzaga, No. 2 Baylor and No. 3 Villanova held onto their spots this week, and Texas also stayed put at No. 5.
Michigan, which has since pushed pause on all basketball activity for two weeks because of the pandemic, jumped into the No. 4 spot this week.
Here’s a look at this week’s complete poll:
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1 – Gonzaga, 15-0, 1,597 (61)
2 – Baylor, 14-0, 1,539 (3)
3 – Villanova, 10-1, 1,459
4 – Michigan, 13-1, 1,376
5 – Texas, 11-2, 1,341
6 – Houston, 13-1, 1,281
7 – Iowa, 12-3, 1,214
8 – Virginia, 10-2, 1,067
9 – Alabama, 13-3, 1,039
10 – Texas Tech, 11-4, 954
11 – West Virginia, 10-4, 869
12 – Missouri, 10-2, 833
13 – Ohio State, 12-4, 810
14 – Wisconsin, 12-4, 757
15 – Kansas, 10-5, 665
16 – Florida State, 9-2, 656
17 – Creighton, 11-4, 640
18 – Tennessee, 10-3, 638
19 – Illinois, 10-5, 415
20 – Virginia Tech, 11-3, 242
21 – Minnesota, 11-5, 223
22 – Saint Louis, 7-1, 218
23 – UCLA, 12-3, 157
24 – Oklahoma, 9-4, 151
25 – Louisville, 10-3, 117
**Others receiving votes:** Boise State 108, Drake 75, Colorado 59, USC 50, Oklahoma State 49, Oregon 49, Florida 37, Connecticut 20, Winthrop 16, Xavier 14, Loyola Chicago 12, BYU 11, Purdue 11, Belmont 9, Clemson 8, St. Bonaventure 6, Toledo 4, Arizona 4
