Jayhawks jump back up to No. 8 in latest AP Poll; now a 1 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology

By Matt Tait     Feb 19, 2018

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Kansas guard Malik Newman (14) elevates to defend against a shot from West Virginia guard Daxter Miles Jr. (4) during the second half, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018 at Allen Fieldhouse.

After spending a week on the outside looking in, the Kansas men’s basketball team is back in the Top 10 of the weekly Associated Press Top 25.

Powered by a road win at Iowa State and a comeback victory at home over then-No. 20 West Virginia, the Jayhawks jumped five spots from No. 13 to No. 8 in the latest poll released Monday morning.

KU’s next opponent — the Trae-Young-led Oklahoma Sooners, 8 p.m. tonight at Allen Fieldhouse — fell out of the poll entirely after losing to Texas over the weekend, their fifth loss in a row and eighth in the last 10 games. Oklahoma had been No. 23 in the AP Top 25.

The top four spots in this week’s poll remained unchanged, with Virginia, Michigan State, Villanova and Xavier holding down spots 1 through 4.

Duke, which had been ranked 12th a week ago, made the biggest jump of the week, up seven spots to No. 5.

Texas Tech, which sits tied with Kansas atop the Big 12 standings with four games to play in the race, moved up one spot to No. 6, setting up a heck of a showdown of two Top 10 teams in Lubbock, Texas, this weekend.

West Virginia fell one spot to No. 21, which rounded out the Big 12 presence in this week’s poll.

In separate but related news, [the Jayhawks also made a move up in ESPN.com’s Bracketology][1] over the weekend, jumping from a No. 2 seed back onto the 1 line.

Joe Lunardi has Kansas slated as a No. 1 seed in the West region and playing their first two rounds in Wichita before, if they survive, heading out to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16.

The other No. 1 seeds in the latest Bracketology update are: Virginia (South), Villanova (East) and Xavier (Midwest).

Here’s a look at the complete AP Top 25:

1 – Virginia (42), 24-2

2 – Michigan State (19), 26-3

3 – Villanova (4), 24-3

4 – Xavier, 24-4

5 – Duke, 22-5

6 – Texas Tech, 22-5

7 – Gonzaga, 25-4

8 – Kansas, 21-6

9 – Purdue, 24-5

10 – North Carolina, 21-7

11 – Cincinnati, 23-4

12 – Auburn, 23-4

13 – Wichita State, 21-5

14 – Arizona, 21-6

15 – Clemson, 20-6

16 – Ohioa State, 22-7

17 – Michigan, 22-7

18 – Rhode Island, 21-4

19 – Tennessee, 19-7

20 – Nevada, 23-5

21 – West Virginia, 19-8

22 – Saint Mary’s, 25-4

23 – Houston, 21-5

24 – Middle Tennessee, 22-5

25 – Florida State, 19-8

[1]: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.