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Kansas College Basketball's Newest No. 1

Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville have each spent time at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll only to lose quickly. The challenge now falls on Kansas to avoid the same fate.

 

The Jayhawks reached No. 1 in Monday’s poll, marking the first time the AP poll has had five different No. 1s before New Year’s Day. They play once this week with their new ranking, visiting No. 18 Villanova on Saturday.

 

None of the previous four teams to hold the No. 1 ranking this season have won more than twice before stumbling, illustrating that this is a year with no dominant team in college basketball.

 

Kansas (9-1), which earned 47 of 65 first-place votes, hasn’t lost since falling to Duke in the Champions Classic to open the season. That run has included winning the Maui Invitational and beating a then-ranked Colorado team, with all but the overtime win against Dayton for the Maui title coming by double-digit margins.

 

Fifth-ranked Ohio State and sixth-ranked Kentucky have the week’s headlining matchup in Saturday’s CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas.

 

Ohio State (9-1) already has 25-point wins against both Villanova and then-ranked North Carolina. Chris Holtmann’s team lost at Minnesota in Big Ten play Sunday but returns to action Tuesday against Southeast Missouri State at home before playing John Calipari’s Wildcats.

 

Kentucky (8-1) is playing a doubleheader this week in Las Vegas, first against Utah on Wednesday.

 

No. 23 Penn State (9-2) is in the AP poll for the first time since the final poll of the 1995-96 season. The Nittany Lions play their first game with that ranking Friday against Central Connecticut State.

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