Jayhawks move up to third in AP Poll
For the second week in a row, we had a couple of big upsets in the college basketball world, but the majority of the AP Poll was fairly stable. The Kansas Jayhawks used their second half comeback against the Oklahoma State Cowboys to move up into third in the rankings released on Monday.
The top 6 was made up of the same teams this week, as the UConn loss to Xavier only dropped them from the second spot down to the fourth. With Kansas holding on for a victory, they were able to jump up on spot, right behind Purdue and Houston. Arizona and Texas kept their spots in the top 6, with Alabama, Tennessee, Gonzaga and UCLA rounding out the Top 10. Arkansas, which lost to LSU on Wednesday, was the only team to drop out of the Top 10.
Most of the teams in the rankings were tested this weekend, but only Baylor and West Virginia actually joined UConn in losing. But Kentucky lost to previously unranked Missouri to drop out of the poll, while the Tigers jumped into the poll for the first time this season at #20. Baylor's loss was the most costly, dropping them 7 spots in the poll, with Missouri moving up the most. But perhaps the biggest story is the 14-1 Charleston Cougars entering the poll at #23.
The Big 12 kept five teams in the polls, as Kansas, Texas and Baylor were joined by TCU and new entrant Iowa State. The Horned Frogs moved up another spot to #17 in the AP Poll, while the Cyclones used their big win over Baylor to enter the poll at #25 this week. Kansas State and West Virginia are receiving votes.
Surprisingly, there are only a few matchups this week between two ranked teams, as the Big 12 and Big Ten somehow managed to mainly avoid having ranked teams play each other. On Wednesday, #20 Missouri travels to Fayetteville to take on #13 Arkansas, while #17 TCU goes to Waco to take on #19 Baylor. Thursday has #1 Purdue taking on #24 Ohio State in Columbus. Saturday showcases #25 Iowa State going to Fort Worth to take on TCU, and then Arkansas takes on #22 Auburn on the road. We lost a ranked matchup when West Virginia fell out of the rankings this week.
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