K-State surges into top 5 while KU drops in latest top 25 college basketball rankings
The Kansas State men’s basketball team has reached yet another unexpected height under first-year head coach Jerome Tang.
K-State surged all the way up to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings. At 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12, the Wildcats are not only off to their best start in decades — they are also ranked higher than they have been at any point since 2010.
The Wildcats jumped up eight spots after checking in at No. 13 in the previous poll. They surged up in the rankings thanks to a thrilling overtime victory against rival Kansas and then a home win over Texas Tech last week.
Much has changed since the Big 12 coaches picked K-State to finish last in the conference’s preseason poll.
Speaking of the Jayhawks, they dropped from No. 2 down to No. 9 in this week’s poll. Bill Self’s team took a tumble after suffering a pair of losses to K-State and then TCU.
Overall, the Big 12 is well represented in the current rankings. Texas checked in at No. 10, followed by TCU at No. 11 and Iowa State at No. 12. Baylor is also included at No. 17.
The No. 1 team in the country is Purdue, followed by Alabama, Houston, Tennessee and K-State.
KU will try to move back up in the rankings with a pair of difficult games this week at Baylor and Kentucky.
K-State will try to climb even higher with games at Iowa State and then at home against Florida.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 11:28 AM.