For the fifth time this college basketball season, a changing of the guard has taken place in the No. 1 spot of the AP Top 25. Kansas overtook the No. 1 ranking in the poll for the first time this season on Monday, jumping past Louisville after it suffered its first loss of the season. Kansas received 47 of a possible 65 first-place votes in leaping past the Cardinals.
Louisville fell two spots to No. 3 after falling 70-57 to Texas Tech on Tuesday, followed by a rout of Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Louisville's minor drop is part of a substantial top-five shakeup after the first, third, fourth and fifth-ranked teams all lost over the last week. Behind KU at No. 2 is Gonzaga followed by Louisville, Duke and Ohio State. Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Baylor round out the top 10.
KU's No. 1 ranking marks the eighth different season in which the Jayhawks have been ranked as the AP's top team in college basketball since Bill Self took over in 2003-2004. Kansas was ranked as the preseason No. 1 team last year, fell to No. 2, took back No. 1 ahead of the new year, then was never ranked inside the top five for the remainder of the season. KU finished the year at No. 17 in the AP poll. This year, Self's club ranked No. 3 in the preseason and hasn't dropped further than No. 5. It opened the season with a loss to Duke but has won nine consecutive games dating back to early November.
Behind Kansas, Gonzaga is also up to its highest ranking of the early season. The Zags began the year No. 8 in the preseason and ranked as high as No. 6, last week. A road win over Arizona on Saturday vaulted Gonzaga up four spots, earning the program its highest ranking since the penultimate AP poll last year when it ranked No. 1.
After losing to Wofford on Sunday, North Carolina fell out of this week's poll, breaking a streak of 104 consecutive weeks the Tar Heels had been ranked. The last time UNC was not in the AP Top 25 was in February 2014.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (47) | 9-1 | 1,607 | 2 |
| 2 | Gonzaga (15) | 11-1 | 1,552 | 6 |
| 3 | Louisville (1) | 10-1 | 1,412 | 1 |
| 4 | Duke (2) | 9-1 | 1,552 | 7 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 9-1 | 1,334 | 3 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 8-1 | 1,231 | 8 |
| 7 | Maryland | 10-1 | 1,207 | 4 |
| 8 | Oregon | 8-2 | 1,172 | 10 |
| 9 | Virginia | 8-1 | 1,121 | 9 |
| 10 | Baylor | 8-1 | 1,062 | 11 |
| 11 | Memphis | 9-1 | 960 | 13 |
| 12 | Auburn | 9-0 | 939 | 12 |
| 13 | Dayton | 8-1 | 879 | 14 |
| 14 | Michigan | 8-3 | 723 | 5 |
| 15 | Michigan State | 7-3 | 656 | 16 |
| 16 | Arizona | 10-2 | 631 | 15 |
| 17 | Butler | 10-1 | 553 | 18 |
| 18 | Villanova | 8-2 | 496 | 20 |
| 19 | Florida State | 8-2 | 449 | 21 |
| 20 | San Diego State | 10-0 | 431 | 25 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 7-2 | 367 | 19 |
| 22 | Washington | 7-2 | 213 | NR |
| 23 | Penn State | 9-2 | 182 | NR |
| 24 | Texas Tech | 6-3 | 115 | NR |
| 25 | West Virginia | 9-1 | 76 | NR |
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
