North Carolina made a massive jump, while Kansas suffered a pretty significant drop in this weekâÂÂs AP Top 25 poll.

The previously unranked Tar Heels were No. 12 in MondayâÂÂs poll, extending to 37 their record of consecutive seasons with a ranking. Not bad for a team that went 8-20 in 2001-02.

Meanwhile, Kansas, which fell to North Carolina and Florida at the Preseason NIT, went from No. 2 to No. 14. ItâÂÂs KUâÂÂs lowest ranking since the end of the 1999-00 season, when it was unranked. At this stage of the season, itâÂÂs KUâÂÂs lowest ranking since 1990-91.

âÂÂI prefer not to be ranked. I donâÂÂt care about rankings,â Carolina coach Matt Doherty said Monday. âÂÂI just care about getting better every day in practice. Rankings are things we canâÂÂt control and itâÂÂs a potential distraction.âÂÂ

KU coach Roy Williams also doesnâÂÂt care about rankings, but did express surprise when a Sports Illustrated reporter asked him if he was âÂÂembarrassedâ dropping two games in New York as the countryâÂÂs No. 2 team.

âÂÂI was stunned,â Williams said matter-of-factly on MondayâÂÂs âÂÂHawk Talkâ radio show. âÂÂI said, âÂÂ’No. IâÂÂm not embarrassed. You are the daggum guys who picked us No. 2. Are you embarrassed?âÂÂ

âÂÂI said all along we had some problems – problems with depth. We werenâÂÂt as good as our ranking, but we work as hard as we can every single day. I thought it was a stupid comment by that guy. I wasnâÂÂt the one who picked us up there. He was and he asked me if I was embarrassed.âÂÂ

A week of shockers and games between ranked teams at tournaments led to shuffling in the Top 25, with two teams falling 12 places each – KU from No. 2, and Michigan State from No. 9 – and four schools dropping out altogether.

No. 1 Arizona (2-0) received all but one of the 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.

Texas (4-0) moved up one spot to second, its best ranking ever. The Longhorns visit Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup.

Alabama (4-0) climbed a place to No. 3, matching the Crimson TideâÂÂs highest ranking. Alabama was also No. 3 for two weeks in January 1977. Duke (3-0) jumped from sixth to fourth, while Pittsburgh (3-0) received the other No. 1 vote and held fifth.

The rest of the Top 10 was Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida, defending national champion Maryland, and Indiana, which had the weekâÂÂs biggest jump among ranked teams. The Hoosiers (4-0) – who moved from 19th to No. 10 after winning the Maui Invitational – play Maryland tonight in a rematch of last seasonâÂÂs NCAA title game.

Connecticut was 11th, followed by North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas, Missouri, Xavier, Stanford, Kentucky, Tulsa and Minnesota.

Michigan State, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Illinois completed the rankings.

In addition to North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia, and Illinois joined the Top 25.