Kansas keeps No. 1 spot on AP basketball poll; Kentucky up to No. 8

Kansas remained solidly entrenched at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday ahead of its showdown with No. 11 Duke in Las Vegas, while a pair of schools from the Magnolia State elbowed their way back into the rankings.

Ole Miss returned to the poll at No. 23 while Mississippi State made its season debut at No. 25.

The Jayhawks received 51 of 62 first-place votes from the national panel of media, putting them well ahead of two-time reigning national champion UConn, which was second with six first-place votes. Gonzaga was third with two first-place votes, Auburn was next with three, and Iowa State rounded out a top five that was unchanged from the previous week.

There’s a good chance for movement next week, though, with a host of high-profile matchups in holiday tournaments, and that matchup between the Jayhawks and Duke on Tuesday night in the Vegas Showdown.

Tennessee climbed four spots to No. 7 in this week’s poll, followed by SEC rivals Kentucky (up one spot) and Alabama. Marquette was 10th after beating then-No. 6 Purdue and Georgia last week to reach 6-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

The Blue Devils and Tar Heels were followed by Purdue, which fell seven spots in the poll. Indiana and Wisconsin made it three straight Big Ten schools, while Cincinnati, Baylor, Florida, Arkansas and Texas A&M rounded out the top 20.

The last five were Creighton, Ole Miss, Arizona, Mississippi State and BYU. The Wildcats narrowly extended their run in the AP Top 25 to 61 weeks — the fourth-longest active streak in the nation — after back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Duke.

The SEC leads the way with nine of the Top 25 teams this week, including four in the top 10: Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. The Big 12 is next with six, including three of the first six in top-ranked Kansas, Iowa State and Houston. The Big East had four in the poll, the Big Ten three and the ACC two.


(AP Photo Charlie Reidel)