Jayhawks’ Streak of 238 Weeks in USA Today Top 25 Ends
The Kansas Jayhawks’ streak of 238 consecutive weeks in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 was snapped on Monday.
The Jayhawks (12-7, 6-5 in Big 12) fell out of the USA Today Coaches Top 25 in the newest rankings, released Feb. 8, ending the Jayhawks’ streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the poll.
Before Monday, the Jayhawks had a place in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 for 238 weeks. The USA Today Coaches Top 25 started with the 1989-90 season.
Kansas went 1-1 last week, beating in-state rival Kansas State at home and then losing to ranked West Virginia on the road.
The last time the Jayhawks were not ranked in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 was the Jan. 26, 2009 poll, when the Jayhawks were 15-4 going into a week in which the Jayhawks faced Nebraska and Colorado. The Jayhawks won both games and slid back into the USA Today Coaches Top 25 at No. 20 in the Feb. 2, 2009, poll. Before that the Jayhawks had slipped in and out of the poll twice, starting the 2008-09 season at No. 24.
The previous season the Jayhawks won the national championship, but lost five seniors from that team, in addition to three players who opted early for the NBA, which led to a preseason ranking of No. 24 for Kansas.
After returning to the USA Today Coaches Top 25 on Feb. 2, the Jayhawks climbed as high as No. 9 before losing to Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament and finished the regular season at No. 14. Kansas reached the Sweet 16 that season, falling to Michigan State, and was No. 10 in the postseason Top 25.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard. Send him a tweet with your question to be included in this week’s Big 12 Basketball Mailbag, which appears each Friday during the conference season.
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