Kansas Back on Top of College Basketball Poll

Kansas is back on top of the college basketball poll and headed for the same place that spelled doom for the last No. 1 team.

The Jayhawks (27-2) moved into the No. 1 spot for the third time this season with 41 first-place votes and 1,570 points from the nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Kansas, which had both its previous visits to the top ended by losses to Missouri, plays at No. 5 Oklahoma on Tuesday night. It will be on the same court where the Tigers (25-3) were knocked out of the No. 1 spot after losing to Oklahoma 107-90 on Sunday, the Sooner’s 44th straight victory at home.

Kansas and Missouri have kept the top ranking a Big Eight matter for the last eight weeks after Syracuse of the Big East held it for the first six weeks of the regular season.

UNLV (24-4) moved from fourth to second with 14 first-place votes and 1,492 points, 44 more than Missouri, which held the top spot for three weeks in two stints. The Tigers were tabbed No. 1 on five ballots.

Connecticut, which set a school record for victories with its 24th against four losses, moved from sixth to fourth. The Huskies were No. 1 on one ballot and had 1,293 points, five more than Duke and Oklahoma, which tied for fifth.

Duke (23-5) dropped two spots from last week after losing to North Carolina State 76-71. The Blue Devils were named No. 1 on one ballot, and Oklahoma (21-4), which gets a rare chance for consecutive home games against No. 1 teams, jumped from 10th with the win over Missouri.

Georgetown (21-4) dropped from fifth to seventh with 1,230 points after losing to St. John’s during the week. Michigan (20-5) fell one place despite winning both its games last week. The Wolverines had 1,170 points.

Purdue (20-5), which held ninth even with a 90-78 loss to Illinois, had 972 points, five more than Syracuse (20-5), which moved up one spot to round out the Top Ten.

La Salle, which owns the country’s best record at 25-1, received the other two first-place votes, but the Explorers again failed to crack the Top Ten.

Georgia Tech (20-5) led the Second Ten with 920 points and was followed by Arkansas, La Salle, Michigan State, Louisiana State, Oregon State, Minnesota, Illinois, Xavier of Ohio and Clemson.

The final five ranked teams are Louisville, Loyola Marymount, Arizona, New Mexico State and Georgia, the only newcomer to the rankings.

The Bulldogs (19-6) beat Southeastern Conference foes Mississippi and Louisiana State last week to return to the poll for the first time since January, 1989.

Indiana (16-8) was No. 25 last week, but the Hoosiers, who started the season 10-0, lost both Big Ten games they played last week, 72-49 to Purdue and 72-66 to Michigan State.

THE TOP 25

The top 25 teams in the AP college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses.

1. Kansas (41): 27-2

2. UNLV (14): 24-4

3. Missouri (5): 25-3

4. Connecticut (1): 24-4

5. Duke (1): 23-5

(tie) Oklahoma: 21-4

7. Georgetown: 21-4

8. Michigan: 20-5

9. Purdue: 20-5

10. Syracuse: 20-5

11. Georgia Tech: 20-5

12. Arkansas: 22-4

13. La Salle (2): 25-1

14. Michigan State: 22-5

15. LSU: 21-6

16. Oregon State: 21-4

17. Minnesota: 19-6

18. Illinois: 19-6

19. Xavier (Ohio): 23-2

20. Clemson: 22-5

21. Louisville: 20-7

22. Loyola Marymount: 22-5

23. Arizona: 19-6

24. New Mexico State: 23-3

25. Georgia: 19-6