Baylor Maintains No. 1 Spot, Leads five Big 12 Teams in AP Top 25
The Baylor Bears, who are one of five undefeated teams in NCAA Division I, lead five Big 12 teams in the Top 25 of the latest Associated Press Men’s Basketball Top 25, released on Monday.
While there are five Big 12 teams are in the Top 25, two additional Big 12 teams are knocking on the door of the poll as Big 12 play begins on Saturday.
The AP Top 25 included the following Big 12 teams:
No. 1 Baylor (remaining No. 1);
No. 6 Kansas (moved up one spot from No. 7 last week);
No. 8 Iowa State (moved up one spot from No. 9 last week);
No. 17 Texas (moved down one spot from No. 16 last week);
No. 25 Texas Tech (remained at No. 25 from last week).
Oklahoma received 62 votes, while West Virginia received 52 votes in the poll. Only Illinois (72) received more votes than either Oklahoma or West Virginia, but were still outside the Top 25.
All seven teams are part of the most recent NCAA Tournament Bracketology by ESPN.
Baylor (11-0) won its only game last week, defeating Alcorn State, 94-57, before sending their players home for a few days with their families. This week, the Bears host Northwestern State on Dec. 28 and then travel to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State on Jan. 1.
The Cyclones (12-0) are another of those five remaining Division I teams that are undefeated. The Cyclones defeated Chicago State, 79-48, to close out 2021 and won’t play again until their matchup with Baylor on Saturday.
Kansas (9-1) was supposed to play Colorado last Tuesday, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues in Colorado’s program. The Jayhawks lost its game with Harvard, set for Dec. 29, due to COVID-19. While the Jayhawks look for another game, they prepare to host TCU to start Big 12 play on Jan. 1.
Texas (9-2) handled Alabama State, 68-48, last week before its break. This week, Texas hosts Incarnate Word on Dec. 28 and West Virginia to open Big 12 action on Jan. 1.
Texas Tech (9-2) defeated Eastern Washington, 78-46, last week. Texas Tech hosts Eastern Alabama State on Dec. 28 before hosting Oklahoma State to open Big 12 play on Jan. 1.
Oklahoma (10-2) defeated Alcorn State, 78-42, in its final non-conference game before the Sooners face Kansas State to open Big 12 action on Jan. 1.
West Virginia (11-1) defeated Youngstown State, 82-52, last week to wrap up the 2021 part of their slate. Now, the Mountaineers face Texas in Austin to open Big 12 play on Jan. 1.
The entire poll featured No. 1 Baylor, No. 2. Duke, No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Kansas, No. 7 USC, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 9 Arizona, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Houston, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Seton Hall, No. 16 LSU, No. 17 Texas, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 19 Alabama, No. 20 Colorado State, No. 21 Providence, No. 22 Villanova, No. 23 Xavier, No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 25 Texas Tech.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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