Wild Week Leads to Kansas Taking Over No. 1 in AP Top 25

An upset-heavy week in college basketball propelled Kansas to the top spot in the AP rankings.

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

It is Kansas’ turn at No. 1 in the Top 25 men’s college basketball poll, while another blueblood—North Carolina—is out for the first time in nearly six years.

The Jayhawks (9-1) moved up one spot to become the fifth team to top the poll in an already wild season. It is the first time the AP poll has had five different No. 1s before New Year’s Day; the record for an entire season is seven, set in 1982-83.

Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville have been the other top-ranked teams so far in a year with no dominant team.

The Jayhawks, who received 47 of 65 first-place votes, haven’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.

Kansas coach Bill Self said his team has “been pretty good and fairly consistent” since the Duke loss.

“I think we are getting better, but still, up until about January, rankings don’t really mean that much,” Self said last week of potentially rising to No. 1, “but it is worth a little bit more as we get toward conference play.”

North Carolina (6-4) had been ranked for 106 consecutive weeks dating to February 2014, including starting this year in the top 10 and peaking at No. 5 on Nov. 18.

The Tar Heels failed to crack 50 points in losses to both highly ranked Ohio State and Virginia, then lost Sunday to Wofford in Chapel Hill with star freshman point guard Cole Anthony and fellow starter Leaky Black out with injuries.

The full Week 7 Top 25 is below:

1. Kansas
2. Gonzaga
3. Louisville
4. Duke
5. Ohio State
6. Kentucky
7. Maryland
8. Oregon
9. Virginia
10. Baylor
11. Memphis
12. Auburn
13. Dayton
14. Michigan
15. Michigan State
16. Arizona
17. Butler
18. Villanova
19. Florida State
20. San Diego State
21. Tennessee
22. Washington
23. Penn State
24. Texas Tech
25. West Virginia

Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina 41, Xavier 40, Wichita State 31, Purdue 30, Liberty 25, Marquette 23, Indiana 23, Virginia Commonwealth 21, Utah State 14, Saint Mary's 13, Northern Iowa 12, Colorado 12, Texas 10, Florida 7, DePaul 6, Georgetown 3, Richmond 3, Virginia Tech 3, LSU 3, Stanford 3, Seton Hall 3, Oklahoma State 2, Duquesne 1, BYU 1, Arkansas 1