Credit Sam Cunliffe for the Kansas men’s basketball team’s rise in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.
[Cunliffe, the former Jayhawk now playing at Evansville, helped the Purple Aces shock No. 1 Kentucky a week ago,][1] sending Kentucky tumbling from the top spot all the way down to No. 9 and allowing a handful of teams to move up.
Kansas (2-1) was one of them, jumping from No. 5 to No. 4 in this week’s Top 25.
The Jayhawks are joined in the top 5 by the only team to beat them thus far — No. 1 Duke — along with No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 5 North Carolina.
Duke received 52 of the 65 first-place votes, with Louisville getting eight, Michigan State four and No. 7 Virginia getting the final first-place nod.
As a result of Kentucky’s loss, every team in last week’s top 10 moved up one spot except for Gonzaga, which stayed at No. 8, just ahead of the Wildcats.
In all, four Big 12 teams appear in this week’s Top 25, which also includes seven teams on KU’s 2019-20 schedule, eight if you count Michigan State, which Kansas could face in next week’s Maui Invitational.
**RISING**
Ohio State had the biggest jump in this week’s poll, followed by No. 14 Arizona’s five-spot climb. Auburn moved up three places from No. 22.
**FALLING**
Kentucky’s eight-place fall was the biggest of the week. Villanova was next, losing seven spots to No. 17, and No. 25 Washington fell five places.
**MOVING IN**
Three teams moved into the AP Top 25 this week. No. 20 Tennessee is ranked for the first time this season after knocking off Washington. No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth, the preseason No. 25, is back in the poll following a 2-point win over LSU and a rout of Jacksonville State. And Texas moved in at No. 22 with wins over California Baptist and Prairie View. The Longhorns are ranked for the first time this season.
**MOVING OUT**
Florida had a precipitous drop after losing to Connecticut, falling out of the poll from No. 15.
LSU was out from No. 23 following its loss to VCU, and Saint Mary’s dropped out from No. 18 after losing to Winthrop at home.
**Here’s this week’s complete AP Top 25:**
1 – Duke, 4-0 (52)
2 – Louisville, 4-0 (8)
3 – Michigan State, 2-1 (4)
4 – Kansas, 2-1
5 – North Carolina, 3-0
6 – Maryland, 3-0
7 – Virginia, 3-0 (1)
8 – Gonzaga, 4-0
9 – Kentucky, 2-1
10 – Ohio State, 3-0
11 – Oregon, 4-0
12 – Texas Tech, 3-0
13 – Seton Hall, 3-1
14 – Arizona, 4-0
15 – Utah State, 4-0
16 – Memphis, 3-1
17 – Villanova, 2-1
18 – Xavier, 4-0
19 – Auburn, 4-0
20 – Tennessee, 3-0
21 – VCU, 4-0
22 – Texas, 4-0
23 – Colorado, 2-0
24 – Baylor, 2-1
25 – Washington, 2-1
**Others receiving votes:** Florida State 91, Florida 67, LSU 61, Saint Mary’s 55, Evansville 43, Oklahoma 29, Vermont 11, Michigan 11, Marquette 11, Purdue 11, Butler 10, Mississippi State 9, Virginia Tech 7, West Virginia 6, Providence 5, Wisconsin 5, Liberty 4, Arkansas 3, Missouri 2, Connecticut 2, USC 2, New Mexico 2, San Diego State 2, Dayton 1.
*- The Associated Press contributed to this report.*
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2019/nov/12/former-jayhawk-sam-cunliffe-helps-evansv/
