A wild week gave us a new No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings: Big 12 champion Kansas.
After wins in six straight to seal Bill Self’s 13th straight conference crown, the Jayhawks take over the top line and appear destined for a No. 1 seed when the field of 68 gets introduced in less than two weeks on Selection Sunday.
The Jayhawks moved up after Gonzaga, the previous No. 1, fell to BYU 79-71 on Saturday ending the Zags pursuit of an undefeated season.
Gonzaga slipped to No. 4 in this week’s poll, but weren’t the only team in the top five to lose last last week. Villanova fell to Butler for the second time this season, ending a win streak at The Pavilion that extended for years and remained at No. 2.
Arizona slipped from No. 4 to No. 7 after the Wildcats were shut down by UCLA in a Pac-12 game that not only shook up the conference race, but also the rankings. UCLA jumped from No. 5 to No. 3.
Gonzaga’s loss has dropped the Bulldogs to fourth in this week’s coaches poll. The big winner is Kansas, which takes over the top spot.
Interesting to see that four teams, including Gonzaga, are getting first-place votes. UCLA’s road win against Arizona puts the Bruins at second, while Villanova is third and still getting top votes even though the Wildcats were swept by Butler. (BU ranks 15th.)
UCLA and Villanova are tied for second place in points.
Elsewhere, with Miami hopping into the poll, the ACC now has seven teams ranked.
