Baylor Stays No. 1, Four Other Big 12 Teams in AP Top 25
The Baylor Bears, who won their conference opener and remained undefeated, lead five Big 12 teams in the Top 25 of the latest Associated Press Men’s Basketball Top 25, released on Monday.
Five Big 12 teams are in the Top 25 and two additional Big 12 teams received votes after the first weekend of Big 12 action.
The AP Top 25 included the following Big 12 teams:
No. 1 Baylor (the Bears remained No. 1);
No. 6 Kansas (The Jayhawks were No. 6 last week);
No. 11 Iowa State (The Cyclones were No. 8 last week);
No. 14 Texas (The Longhorns were No. 17 last week);
No. 25 Texas Tech (The Red Raiders were No. 25 last week).
Oklahoma received 71 votes (second to Illinois’ 74 outside the Top 25), while West Virginia received six votes in the poll.
Baylor (13-0, 1-0 in Big 12) defeated Northwestern State, 104-68, and then beat then-No. 8 Iowa State, 77-72, in the Big 12 opener for both teams. It was a matchup of two 12-0 teams in NCAA Division I men’s basketball for just the fourth time in 40 seasons. Baylor is set to host Oklahoma on Jan. 4 and travel to TCU on Jan. 8.
Kansas (11-1) lost games with Harvard and TCU due to COVID-19 protocols but added games with Nevada and George Mason. Kansas beat Nevada, 88-61, and then beat George Mason, 76-67. Kansas travels to Oklahoma State on Jan. 4 and Texas Tech on Jan. 8.
The Cyclones (12-1, 0-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeatens by falling to Baylor, 77-72, in their only game of last week. But considering it was a loss to the nation’s No. 1 team, the AP voters chose not to drop Iowa State too much. The Cyclones host Texas Tech on Jan. 5 and travel to Oklahoma on Jan. 8.
Texas (11-2, 1-0) easily defeated Incarnate Word, 78-33, in non-conference play, and then beat a short-handed West Virginia team, 74-59, to open Big 12 action. Texas is set to travel to Kansas State on Jan. 4 and then Oklahoma State on Jan. 8.
Texas Tech (10-2) played just one game last week, defeating Alabama State, 75-53. The Red Raiders’ game with Oklahoma State was postponed to Jan. 13. So, Texas Tech will open Big 12 play at Iowa State on Jan. 5, followed by hosting Kansas on Jan. 8.
Oklahoma (11-2, 1-0) defeated Kansas State, 71-69, in its only game last week. The Sooners won their Big 12 opener without leading scorer Tanner Groves and two other Sooners due to COVID health and safety protocols. The Sooners are at Baylor on Jan. 4 and host Iowa State on Jan. 8.
West Virginia (11-2, 0-1) lost to Texas, 74-59, without three Mountaineers, including leading scorer Taz Sherman and forward Gabe Osabuohein. Both were out due to COVID health and safety protocols. The Mountaineers’ game with TCU, set for Monday, has been postponed. So they’ll return to Morgantown and host Kansas State on Jan. 8.
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 Arizona, No. 9 Auburn, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 12 Houston, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 14 Texas, No. 15 Alabama, No. 16 (tie) Providence, No. 16 (tie) Kentucky, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 19 Villanova, No. 20 Colorado State, No. 21 LSU, No. 22 Xavier, No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 24 Seton Hall and No. 25 Texas Tech.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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