Jayhawks jump back into Top 5 in latest AP poll

By Matt Tait Jan 24, 2022

Kansas head coach Bill Self fist bumps Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) as he comes out briefly during the second half on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Bramlage Coliseum.

Both Kansas and Texas Tech men’s basketball programs moved up in the latest Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll on Monday, ahead of their 8 p.m. matchup at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas, which won a thriller at Kansas State over the weekend, jumped two spots to No. 5 and the Red Raiders, who knocked off West Virginia over the weekend, jumped from No. 18 to No. 13.

Kansas and Texas Tech are separated by a half game at the top of the Big 12 standings, with KU currently in first place at 5-1 (16-2 overall) and Tech (15-4) tied with No. 4 Baylor (17-2) for second place at 5-2.

TCU, at 3-2, also is just one game behind Kansas in the loss column.

“This will be a big game for our league race,” KU coach Bill Self said Saturday while looking ahead to Monday’s matchup.

At the top of the latest AP poll, Auburn jumped into the No. 1 spot for the first time in school history, edging out Gonzaga by 29 points and gaining 45 of the 61 first-place votes. Gonzaga was second with 15 first-place votes and No. 3 Arizona got the lone remaining first-place vote.

Purdue, UCLA, Houston, Duke and Michigan State round out this week’s Top 10.

Texas, meanwhile, fell out of the poll for the first time this season, but was still in the receiving votes category with fellow-Big 12 program TCU.

Here’s a look at this week’s complete AP Top 25:

1 – Auburn, 18-1, 1,504 (45)

2 – Gonzaga, 15-2, 1,475 (15)

3 – Arizona, 16-1, 1,381 (1)

4 – Baylor, 17-2, 1,335

5 – Kansas, 16-2, 1,281

6 – Purdue, 16-3, 1,119

7 – UCLA, 13-2, 1,116

7 – Houston, 17-2, 1,116

9 – Duke, 15-3, 1,017

10 – Michigan State, 15-3, 979

11 – Wisconsin, 15-3, 894

12 – Kentucky, 15-4, 822

13 – Texas Tech, 15-4, 766

14 – Villanova, 14-5, 713

15 – USC, 16-2, 711

16 – Ohio State, 12-4, 584

17 – Providence, 16-2, 542

18 – Tennessee, 13-5, 419

19 – LSU, 15-4, 399

20 – Connecticut, 13-4, 284

21 – Xavier, 14-4, 269

22 – Marquette, 14-6, 177

23 – Iowa State, 14-5, 167

24 – Illinois, 13-5, 155

25 – Davidson, 16-2, 132

**Others receiving votes:** BYU 120, Alabama 77, Texas 61, Colorado State 57, Florida State 50, Loyola Chicago 21, Oregon 19, Wake Forest 12, Murray State 10, Indiana 10, Iowa 8, TCU 6, Miami (FL) 4, Saint Mary’s 3, Boise State 3, Florida 3, Wyoming 2, Seton Hall 1, Iona 1

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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.