KU drops to 20th in poll

Arizona No. 1 for fifth straight week

Kansas dropped six more spots in The Associated Press college basketball poll released Monday.

The Jayhawks, who were ranked second in the preseason, fell to 14th last week after suffering back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Florida. The Jayhawks (3-3) are 20th in this week’s poll following Saturday’s 84-78 loss at Oregon.

Oregon moved up two spots to fifth, the highest ranking in school history.

KU plays Wednesday at Tulsa (4-0), which moved up two spots to 17th.

Arizona (4-0) beat Saint Louis and San Diego State last week and was No. 1 for the fifth straight week. Alabama (6-0) moved up one spot to second, the highest ranking in school history. The Wildcats received 70 first-place votes and 1,774 points from the national media panel, 137 more than the Crimson Tide.

No. 3 Duke (5-0) and No. 4 Pittsburgh (5-0) each moved up one place. The Panthers received the only other first-place vote and the ranking is their best since they were second Jan. 5, 1988.

Oklahoma, Indiana, Texas, Connecticut and Notre Dame rounded out the Top 10.

Previously unranked Notre Dame (8-1) landed the Top 10 following victories against Marquette, Maryland and Texas.

“These kids did a great job this week, and I told them that and then told them we’re in new territory now,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “Now we have to stay consistent and levelheaded. It is December and there is a long way to go.”

Creighton, the only team to beat Notre Dame this season, and College of Charleston also moved into the Top 25. Creighton (6-0), which beat the Irish in the championship game of the Guardians Classic, is 23rd – its first ranking since 1974-75, when the Bluejays got as high as 13th.

College of Charleston (6-0), which beat Wyoming, Oklahoma State and Villanova in the Great Alaska Shootout over Thanksgiving weekend, moved in at No. 25, its first appearance in the poll since 1998-99.