Despite a 1-1 record last week, the Kansas men’s basketball team jumped two spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, from No. 8 to No. 6.
KU lost at No. 20 Texas last Monday night in a game that came down to the final seconds and followed that up with a home win over Oklahoma on Saturday in another game that came down to the final seconds.
The split moved KU to 20-4 overall and 9-2 in Big 12 play and kept Kansas a half game ahead of Baylor in the Big 12 race. Baylor is ranked No. 7 in this week’s poll with a record of 21-4 overall and 9-3 in Big 12 play. The two will square off again in Waco, Texas on Feb. 26.
Texas Tech dropped two spots to No. 11 and Texas stayed put at No. 20. No other Big 12 program received votes in this week’s poll.
Gonzaga, meanwhile, jumped back into the No. 1 spot in place of Auburn, which dropped its second game of the season last week. Arizona, Kentucky and Purdue round out the top five ahead of KU.
**This week’s complete AP Top 25**
1 – Gonzaga, 21-2, 1,496 (56)
2 – Auburn, 23-2, 1,413 (4)
3 – Arizona, 22-2, 1,370
4 – Kentucky, 21-4, 1,350
5 – Purdue, 22-4, 1,163
6- Kansas, 20-4, 1,151
7 – Baylor, 21-4, 1,148
8 – Providence, 21-2, 1,093
9 – Duke, 21-4, 1,073
10 – Villanova, 19-6, 911
11 – Texas Tech, 19-6, 858
12 – Illinois, 18-6, 778
13 – UCLA, 17-5, 711
14 – Houston, 20-4, 700
15 – Wisconsin, 19-5, 631
16 – Tennessee, 18-6, 595
17 – USC, 21-4, 554
18 – Ohio State, 15-6, 503
19 – Michigan State, 18-6, 485
20 – Texas, 18-7, 410
21 – Murray State, 24-2, 290
22 – Wyoming, 21-3, 190
23 – Arkansas, 19-6, 158
24 – Connecticut, 17-7, 112
25 – Alabama, 16-9, 80
**Others receiving votes:** Marquette 77, Xavier 51, Colorado State 29, Saint Mary’s 22, LSU 18, Iowa 17, Notre Dame 17, SMU 14, Rutgers 10, Virginia 4, Miami (Florida) 3, Boise State 3, Toledo 3, South Dakota State 3, Belmont 2, San Francisco 2, Vermont 1, Wake Forest 1
