Kansas, Texas, Kentucky and Purdue held the top four spots in The Associated Press' college basketball poll for the fourth straight week. Now, they are the only unbeaten teams left in Division I.
The Jayhawks (13-0) were again the runaway No. 1 on Monday, receiving 56 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. Texas (13-0) was No. 1 on eight ballots, while Kentucky (15-0) had the remaining first-place vote.
Duke and Villanova moved up two spots to fifth and sixth, while Syracuse and West Virginia dropped to seventh and eighth. Syracuse and West Virginia each lost for the first time last week. North Carolina remained No. 9 and Michigan State moved up one spot to round out the top 10.
Four teams -- Gonzaga, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and BYU -- moved into the rankings from 19th to 25th.
Kansas State advanced one spot to 11th and was followed by Georgetown, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Florida State, Gonzaga and Georgia Tech. The last five ranked teams were Temple, Texas Tech, Pittsburgh, Washington and BYU.
Kansas beat Belmont 81-51 and then-No. 18 Temple 84-52 last week to increase its number of wins by at least 25 points to nine. The Jayhawks go on the road to face a ranked team again this week, No. 16 Tennessee on Sunday.
Gonzaga (11-3) fell out of the poll last week after a four-week run when the Bulldogs got as high as No. 15. They have won three straight since the 76-41 loss to Duke, including an 85-83 overtime win at Illinois on Saturday.
Georgia Tech (11-2) kept its poll routine in check by returning to the rankings at No. 20. The Yellow Jackets, who have won three straight since an overtime loss to Florida State, were ranked for two weeks, dropped out for two weeks, returned for two weeks, then were out the last two weeks.
Pittsburgh (12-2) moved into the Top 25 on a five-game winning streak, the last an 82-72 victory at Syracuse on Saturday. The Panthers lost four starters from the team that was ranked all last season, reaching No. 1 for three weeks.
BYU (14-1) was ranked for one week last season. The Cougars moved in at No. 25 this week having won nine straight since losing 71-61 at Utah State. BYU has scored at least 80 points in nine games this season, including the last five straight that featured a 99-69 win at Arizona.
Ohio State, Clemson, UAB and Northwestern dropped out of the Top 25.
The Buckeyes (10-4) fell from 15th following losses last week to Wisconsin and Michigan. Ohio State, which was ranked every week since the preseason poll, was 7-1 when leading scorer Evan Turner broke bones in his back when he fell dunking. He might not return until early February.
Clemson (12-3) dropped out from 21st following Sunday night's 74-53 loss at Duke. The Tigers were ranked a total of six weeks this season.
UAB (12-2) moved into the poll last week for the first time since March 2006, and the visit was short. The Blazers fell from 24th after losing 72-63 to Virginia and beating Arkansas 73-72.
Northwestern's time in the Top 25 was as short as UAB's, even if the wait was much longer. The Wildcats (10-3) moved into the poll at No. 25 last week, their first ranking since January 1969, but they lost to Illinois and Michigan State.
There are five games involving ranked teams against each other this week and Wisconsin is in two: Wednesday at Michigan State and Saturday against Purdue. The others are Connecticut at Georgetown and Duke at Georgia Tech on Saturday and Kansas visiting Tennessee on Sunday.
