K-State basketball surges up latest top 25 poll, but Wildcats remain behind KU
The Kansas State basketball team surged up the national polls on Monday for its best ranking since debuting at No. 12 in the preseason.
The Wildcats climbed seven spots to No. 16 in the Associated Press Top 25 after beating West Virginia and Oklahoma by lopsided margins last week.
With those victories, K-State (21-6, 11-3 Big 12) maintained its position atop the conference standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
But its winning streak wasn’t enough for K-State to pass its rival. The Kansas Jayhawks are still ahead of the Wildcats at No. 15. KU (20-7, 9-5) dropped three spots after a 91-62 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday.
That makes Monday night’s game between K-State and KU a rare Sunflower Showdown involving ranked teams.
The Wildcats and Jayhawks haven’t met when both were ranked since 2014, when then No. 18 Kansas beat No. 25 K-State 86-60 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Texas Tech is now the highest-rated Big 12 team at No. 11. Baylor and Iowa State missed out on a ranking but received votes.
Gonzaga is the new No. 1.
AP Top 25
| | Record | Pts | Pvs |
1. Gonzaga (44) | 27-2 | 1,569 | 2 |
2. Virginia (15) | 24-2 | 1,513 | 3 |
3. Duke (3) | 24-3 | 1,502 | 1 |
4. Kentucky (2) | 23-4 | 1,418 | 4 |
5. North Carolina | 22-5 | 1,326 | 8 |
6. Michigan State | 23-5 | 1,232 | 10 |
7. Tennessee | 24-3 | 1,190 | 5 |
8. Houston | 26-1 | 1,145 | 9 |
9. Michigan | 24-4 | 1,057 | 7 |
10. Marquette | 23-4 | 1,019 | 11 |
11. Texas Tech | 22-5 | 938 | 14 |
12. Nevada | 25-2 | 883 | 6 |
13. LSU | 22-5 | 836 | 13 |
14. Purdue | 20-7 | 820 | 15 |
15. Kansas | 20-7 | 580 | 12 |
16. Kansas State | 21-6 | 559 | 23 |
17. Maryland | 21-7 | 549 | 24 |
18. Florida State | 21-6 | 501 | 16 |
19. Wisconsin | 19-8 | 466 | 22 |
20. Virginia Tech | 21-6 | 392 | 20 |
21. Buffalo | 24-3 | 288 | 25 |
22. Iowa | 21-6 | 278 | 21 |
23. Cincinnati | 23-4 | 263 | — |
24. Wofford | 24-4 | 112 | — |
25. Washington | 22-5 | 92 | — |
Others receiving votes: Louisville 90, Villanova 63, Iowa State 58, Mississippi State 28, Auburn 16, Baylor 10, VCU 4, Old Dominion 2, New Mexico State 1.