Wichita State fourth, Kansas up to sixth in latest AP basketball poll

Kansas continued its steady rise up the rankings, landing at No. 6 in the Associated Press top 25 poll on Monday.

The Jayhawks moved up two spots in the poll after notching a home victory over Baylor and a road win at TCU on Saturday night. It was KU’s highest ranking since it was ranked No. 6 on Dec. 2, just days after falling to Villanova at the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney in the Bahamas.

Kansas led five Big 12 teams in the top 25 while Kansas State dropped from the rankings after suffering back-to-back road losses at Texas and Iowa State. Oklahoma State moved up three spots to No. 8, while Iowa State held firm at No. 16. No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 25 Texas, which entered the rankings after victories over K-State and Baylor, rounded out the Big 12 contingent.

Wichita State, meanwhile, moved up one spot to No. 4. Unbeatens Arizona and Syracuse remained No. 1 and No. 2 in the poll, while Florida jumped over Wichita State to No. 3.

The Gators are one of three teams in the top 10 that owns a victory over Kansas, with No. 5 San Diego State and No. 9 Villanova also claiming wins over the Jayhawks in the non-conference season.

No. 11 Kentucky is the only other Southeastern Conference team in the poll, while Missouri is no longer receiving votes.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 26, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:

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Connecticut 67, Gonzaga 51, UCLA 39, Virginia 18, George Washington 5, Green Bay 5, Kansas State 5, Minnesota 5, SMU 3, American 1, Harvard 1, Louisiana Tech 1, New Mexico 1, Southern Mississippi 1.

The top 25 teams in the USA Today men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 26, points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:

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This story was originally published January 27, 2014 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Wichita State fourth, Kansas up to sixth in latest AP basketball poll."