photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Devonte Graham (4) puts up a floater as he is fouled by Florida forward Jacob Kurtz (30) during the second half on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Facing a tough week with a Wednesday road game at Georgetown and a Saturday game at Sprint Center against No. 13, the Jayhawks start the week as the No. 10 team in the Associated Press college basketball poll released Monday. Kansas moved up one spot from last week.

The top 25 teams in the AP poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 7, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:

Record Pts Prv

1. Kentucky (64) 9-0 1,600 1
2. Duke 8-0 1,518 4
3. Arizona 8-0 1,486 3
4. Louisville 7-0 1,319 5
5. Wisconsin 8-1 1,316 2
6. Virginia 9-0 1,285 7
7. Villanova 8-0 1,173 10
8. Texas 7-1 1,155 6
9. Gonzaga 7-1 1,145 9
10. Kansas 6-1 1,083 11
11. Wichita St. 5-1 929 8
12. Ohio St. 6-1 808 14
13. Utah 6-1 717 25
14. Iowa St. 5-1 668 20
15. Butler 7-1 593 23
16. Oklahoma 5-2 557 22
17. Washington 7-0 428 _
18. San Diego St. 6-2 390 13
19. Maryland 8-1 370 21
20. Miami 8-1 359 15
21. North Carolina 6-2 350 12
22. West Virginia 8-1 313 16
23. N. Iowa 8-0 232 _
24. St. John’s 6-1 211 _
25. Notre Dame 8-1 200 _

Others receiving votes: Michigan St. 120, Illinois 91, Georgetown 62, Iowa 60, Seton Hall 57, Baylor 49, TCU 45, Colorado St. 28, Arkansas 22, California 19, Michigan 14, Creighton 7, VCU 6, LSU 5, Indiana 3, NC State 3, Old Dominion 2, Dayton 1, Yale 1.

My top 25 ballot:

1 – Kentucky: The thoroughbred owners weren’t angry yet when the Texas game was 26-26 at the half. Maybe a little nervous, but fury was on one knee in the on-deck circle. Then the best defensive team in college basketball in years showed its fangs and in the first 8:59 of the second half, the Wildcats outscored the Longhorns, 18-2.

2 – Duke: Finally, the voters realize that the Blue Devils have been the second-best team in the nation all season. It took them shooting .652 from the field and .583 from three in a 10-point victory vs. Wisconsin for everyone to see what should have been obvious. Hands off my back and back on the keyboard.

3 – Virginia: Since the start of conference play last season, the Cavaliers are 30-3. Tony Bennett has brought the Virginia program from rags to riches in the ACC. Bennett doesn’t draw the attention of more established ACC peers such as Coach K, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim, but that’s OK. he doesn’t mind being the stranger in paradise.

4 – Arizona: Brandon Ashley outscored Gonzaga, 6-2, in the final 3:03 of regulationa nd T.J. McConnell bettered the Zags, 6-3, in overtime.

5 – Wisconsin: Leave Josh Gasser to help elsewhere and he’ll make you regret it. He’s shooting .464 from three.

6 – Louisville: Cards pestered Ohio State into shooting .304 because that’s what they do.

7 – Texas: They tied Kentucky for a half, which isn’t half bad. If Cameron Ridley could find a way to rev his motor a little louder, Longhorns could take a step or two up the rankings.

8 – Gonzaga: Przemek Karnowski, a 7-1, 288-pound center from Pland. Kyle Wiltjer, a 6-10 transfer from Kentucky. Domantas Sabonis, a skilled 6-10 freshman from Lithuania. Kevin Pangos, a drive-and-dish senior point guard who doesn’t turn it over. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Zags could be team best equipped to upset Kentucky in the tournament. Taking Arizona to overtime in Tucson did nothing to make that seem outlandish.

9 – Kansas: I asked freshman Devonte Graham what the coach’s tone was like at halftime when KU was down 15 points in its comeback victory against Floriday. Graham looked down, smiled and said, “It wasn’t pretty good.” It worked.

10 – Villanova: Schedule about to heat up for Jay Wright’s team. Next seven opponents: Illinois, Temple, Syracuse, NJIT, Butler, Seton Hall, St. John’s. De Paul and Xavier, teams with a combined 51-17 record. Only NJIT has a losing record and it’s coming off a victory at Michigan.

11 – Wichita State: No shame in losing by a point in overtime in the Huntsman Center to a very good Utah squad.

12 – Washington: Huskies defend the whole court well. Opponents shooting .244 on three-point shots, .375 inside the arc.

13 – San Diego State: Aztecs scored school-worst 36 points in 13-point loss at Washington and shot .246 from the field, making int second time they have missed three-quarters of their shots.

14 – Utah: Utes represent a tough out Saturday at Sprint Center. Coming off a one-point, overtime victory vs. visiting Wichita State, Utes will try to make it 2-0 against Kansas schools Saturday in Sprint Center.

15 – Ohio State: Facing intense Louisville defense in nine-point loss will help Buckeyes to get better, especially point guard Shannon Scott (five turnovers, 1 for 7 shooting).

16 – Maryland: Fifth-tallest team in the coungtry, per kenpom.com.

17 – Iowa State: Cyclones three-point shooting percentage in five victories: .402. In one loss: .222.

18 – St. John’s: Senior D’Angelo Harrison leads the team with 18.4 points and ranks second with 8.1 rebounds and shoots .372 from three. Johnnies won by a dozen at Syracuse behind Harrison’s 24 points.

19 – Oklahoma: One of four legitimate contenders for the Big 12 title, the Sooners slammed Missouri, 82-63.

20 – Michigan State: Best three-loss team in the country, but coach Tom Izzo won’t be passing out trophies for that honor.

21 – Butler: One of many Big East teams off to good starts, Bulldogs have defeated North Carolina and Georgetown. Lone loss to Oklahoma.

22 – North Carolina: Brice Johnson totaled 19 points and 17 rebounds in confidence-building rout of East Carolina.

23 – Notre Dame: Fighting Irish backcourt tandem of Jerian Grant and Demetrius Grant combined for 49 points in one-point overtime victory against Michigan State.

24 – Baylor: It’s difficult to see a Baylor basketball jersey without thinking about the coolest NBA draft moment ever. NBA commissioner announced Isaiah Austin as the NBA’s draft choice. Diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, Austin can’t ever play basketball again because of the risk of stressing enlarged arteries in the heart.

25 – Northern Iowa: UNI is 2-0 in overtime games played against schools named after men (Stephen F. Austin and George Mason).