photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) puts up a shot over Texas center Cameron Ridley (55) during the second half on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas, No. 8 in the Associated Press college basketball poll for the past four weeks, slipped to No. 9 in the poll released Monday, falling behind Wichita State, which vaulted from No. 11 to No. 8.

The top 25 teams in the AP poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through March 1, 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 (65) 29-0 1,625 1
2. Virginia 27-1 1,547 2
3. Duke 26-3 1,501 4
4. Villanova 27-2 1,417 6
5. Arizona 26-3 1,338 7
6. Wisconsin 26-3 1,318 5
7. Gonzaga 29-2 1,244 3
8. Wichita St. 27-3 1,104 11
9. Kansas 23-6 1,087 8
10. Maryland 24-5 1,035 14
11. N. Iowa 27-3 908 10
12. Notre Dame 24-5 879 9
13. Utah 22-6 823 13
14. Baylor 22-7 801 19
15. Oklahoma 20-8 759 16
16. Louisville 23-6 728 17
17. Iowa St. 20-8 536 12
18. Arkansas 23-6 515 18
19. North Carolina 20-9 435 15
20. West Virginia 22-7 389 20
21. Butler 21-8 359 23
22. SMU 23-6 210 21
23. Ohio St. 21-8 114 _
24. Providence 20-9 91 25
25. Murray St. 26-4 79 _

Others receiving votes: Dayton 61, Boise St. 53, Oregon 33, St. John’s 27, BYU 21, Texas A&M 20, Davidson 18, Georgetown 13, Colorado St. 7, San Diego St. 7, Tulsa 7, LSU 6, Rhode Island 3, VCU 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Valparaiso 2.

My top 25 AP ballot:

1 – Kentucky: Discussions regarding what type of team can upset the undefeated Wildcats inevitably lead with strong three-point shooting teams. Here’s the problem with that: Kentucky’s post defenders are so effective, perimeter defenders can afford to stick with shooters and not drop off to help down low. Kentucky opponents shoot .273 from three, second only to Pepperdine (26 percent).

2 – Virginia: Cavs hit the road and limited Wake Forest to .242 two-point shooting and .182 three-point accuracy in 70-34 domination.

3 – Duke: Center Jahlil Okafor still hasn’t recovered 100 percent from an ankle injury, which has prevented Duke from practicing as hard defensively, according to coach Mike Krzyzewski. Okafor hasn’t shown any signs of an injury at the other end, where he scored a career-high 30 points in overtime victory at Virginia Tech. Senior guard Quinn Cook played all 45 minutes and made 6 of 11 threes on the way to 26 points.

4 – Wisconsin: First the Badgers lost at Maryland and then engine troubled caused the team plane ot make an emergency landing in Pittsburgh.

5 – Villanova: Xavier coach Chris Mack was blown away by Villanova’s shooting range after ‘Cats made 13 of 29 threes in road game, including 4 of 7 from reserve forward Kris Jenkins.
“They’re as good as anybody in the country,” Mack said. “Those guys are shooting from 30 feet, from 27 feet. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

6 – Arizona: Leading scorer Stanley Johnson made 3 of 19 shots and the Wildcats still won at Utah, leaving no doubt as to the identity of best team in Pac-12.

7 – Gonzaga: Zags two leading scorers and three-point shooters, Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer and senior guard Kevin Pangos, fired blanks on same night in three-point home loss to BYU. They combined to shoot 5 of 23 overall and 2 of 9 from three.

8 – Kansas: It’s always best, it seems to have a primary scorer and two secondary ones. Kansas has developed that. In past five games, Big 12 Player of the Week Perry Ellis has averaged 22.5 points, freshman Kelly Oubre 12.3, sophomore Frank Mason 10.6. They have combined for 65.3 percent of teams points in that stretch.

9 – Notre Dame: Since defeating Duke on Jan. 28, Irish have gone 4-3 with latest loss coming at home to Syracuse.

10 – Utah: Won the first half against Arizona State, 41-9.

11 – Maryland: Senior guard Dez Wells went off for 26 points in 59-53 defeat of Wisconsin. Wells is shooting .523 from three and has hit 79 percent of his free throws.

12 – Wichita State: Shockers finished first half on 22-6 run in avenging loss to Northern Iowa and extending home winning streak to 32 games, fourth longest streak in nation.

13 – Northern Iowa: Sixteen-game winning streak died with 74-60 loss at Wichita State.

14 – Oklahoma: Sooners have won 8 of 9 heading into tonight’s game in Ames.

15 – Baylor: Taurean Prince has scored at least 20 points in four of Bears’ past six games.

16 – Iowa State: Loss to Baylor kept Cyclones from going 8-0 at home in Big 12 games and they followed it up with one-point loss at Kansas State.

17 – Louisville: Days after being suspended for threatening his girlfriend in a text, starting guard Chris Jones was charged with rape and sodomy and was dismissed from the team. Jones entered a not-guilty plea in court Thursday and was released on home incarceration.

18 – North Carolina: Loss at North Carolina State was not well received by Tar Heel nation.

19 – Arkansas: When asked about Kentucky’s McDonald’s All-Americans, Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said, “We’ve got some Burger King guys.” A burger joint hasn’t been born that can match Kentucky’s dominance. It would have to be named “10 Guys.”
Hogs were coming off good victory vs. Texas A&M to push their winning streak to seven games before shooting 5 for 18 from three against Kentucky.

20 – West Virginia: Mountaineers beat Texas (17 turnovers) and lost to Baylor (eight turnovers). They don’t shoot well enough to win unless they create extra possessions with turnovers and offensive rebounds.

21 – Ohio State: D’Angelo Russell, first-team All-America candidate as a freshman, had 28 points to lead Buckeyes back from a 12-point deficit to a four-point home victory vs. a tough Purdue squad.

22 – Oregon: Don’t foul senior guard Joseph Young. He’s shooting .912 from the line and averages 19.9 points. He plays 36.2 minutes a game, but obviously doesn”t lose his legs. Ducks have won 8 of 9.

23 – Butler: Should change mascot to Underdogs. They relish the role.

24 – Providence: FoxSports1 graphic: Friars 4-6 when Kris Dunn has five or more turnovers and 16-3 when he has fewer than five.

25 – Georgetown: Hoyas so much better when Joshua Smith stays out of foul trouble.