AP Top 25 Men: Baylor Rises Up to No. 2 Behind Purdue
The Baylor Bears rose up to No. 2 after a tumultuous week in college hoops in the latest Associated Press Men’s Basketball Top 25, released on Monday.
The AP Top 25 included the following Big 12 teams:
No. 2 Baylor (up two spots from last week’s No. 4);
No. 7 Texas (holding steady from last week);
No. 8 Kansas (holding steady from last week);
No. 17 Iowa State (up two spots from last week’s No. 19).
Oklahoma received 29 votes, while Texas Tech received two votes in the poll.
Purdue moved up to No. 1 overall, thanks in part to a Duke loss last week. The Blue Devils were last week’s No. 1 team.
Baylor (8-0) won its only game last week, a 99-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. LJ Cryer led five different Bears in double figures with 20 points, while Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua had a career-high 14 points, along with 13 rebounds. Baylor is off until it hosts Villanova in its Big 12-Big East Battle game on Sunday.
Texas (6-1) had a 2-0 week, defeating Sam Houston, 73-57, and UT-Rio Grande Valley, 88-58. In the latter game, Christian Bishop led the Longhorns with 17 points. Texas has just one game this week, a Thursday showdown at No. 23 Seton Hall in the Big 12-Big East Battle.
Kansas (6-1) also played just one game last week, and it was their 95-75 win over St. John’s in the Big 12-Big East Battle. Christian Braun had a career-high 31 points for the Jayhawks, while David McCormack had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kansas hosts UTEP on Tuesday and then renews the ‘Border War’ with Missouri on Saturday.
Iowa State (8-0) crashed the Top 25 last week for the first time in more than two years, thanks to back-to-back wins over Top 25 teams. The Cyclones maintained their ranking with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 83-64, and Creighton, 64-58, the latter of which was the Cyclones’ Big 12-Big East Battle game. Caleb Grill had 16 points off the bench for ISU, including four 3-pointers. Iowa State hosts Iowa on Thursday and Jackson State on Sunday.
The entire poll featured No. 1 Purdue, No. 2. Baylor, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 6 Villanova, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Kansas, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 11 Arizona, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 Houston, No. 15 UConn, No. 16 USC, No. 17 Iowa State, No. 18 Auburn, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 20 Florida, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 22 Wisconsin, No. 23 Seton Hall, No. 24 BYU and No. 25 LSU.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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