Kansas Basketball Falls Outside AP Top 10 After One-Loss Week

One of the largest drops of the season for the Jayhawks .

Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self yells out during the game against BYU Cougars inside Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 31, 2026. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kansas opened last week with a solid road win over Oklahoma State, but it ended Saturday on a sour note after being upset by Cincinnati in Allen Fieldhouse. Now, the Jayhawks are paying the price in the national rankings.

In Monday's edition of the AP Top 25, KU took its biggest tumble in the polls since November. The Jayhawks dropped six spots after their 1-1 week. ap

KU is now the fourth-highest ranked team in the Big 12, slotting in at No. 14 in this week's poll. Last week, Bill Self and Co. were No. 8.

College Basketball AP Top 25 (Feb. 23)

Mar 1, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks logo at center court prior to the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. Michigan
4. Iowa State
5. Houston
6. UConn
7. Florida
8. Purdue
9. Gonzaga
10. Illinois
11. Virginia
12. Nebraska
13. Michigan State
14. Kansas
15. St. John's
16. Texas Tech
17. Alabama
18. North Carolina
19. BYU
20. Arkansas
21. Miami (OH)
22. Tennessee
23. Saint Louis
24. Louisville
25. Vanderbilt

The program had an opportunity to make a jump if it had defeated Cincinnati two days ago. Instead, it is now battling to remain in the top 15.

Losing to the Bearcats was undoubtedly the worst defeat for Self's team all season. Despite the win, they are only ranked No. 51 in the NET and No. 46 on KenPom, marking a loss so damaging that it dropped KU to the No. 4 seed line in a hypothetical March Madness bracket.

Although KU still owns quality wins over schools like Iowa State, Arizona, and Texas Tech, it has seven losses overall. That is the most of any team ranked inside the top 15, with only Florida (No. 7) and Illinois (No. 10) sitting at six losses.

The Jayhawks were jumped by Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Virginia, and Michigan State in the poll. They have considerable work to do before being viewed as worthy of climbing past those teams again.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Jayhawks, as they will host No. 5 Houston on Big Monday tonight in one of the most pivotal matchups of the season. Later this week, they will travel to Tucson to take on Arizona in another grueling contest.

Even if KU splits its games this week, it likely will not see much movement in the AP Top 25. Barring a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament, KU will have an extremely difficult path to earning anything higher than a No. 3 seed, especially with its final two regular season games coming against weaker opponents in Arizona State and Kansas State.

BREAKING: College Basketball AP Poll🏀https://t.co/AEi68UWgnQ pic.twitter.com/LuYhcscgfI

— On3 (@On3) February 23, 2026