Jan. 04--After Michigan State stumbled, Kansas takes over the No. 1 position. The Jayhawks throttled Baylor 102-74 on Saturday to set up an intriguing No. 1-versus-No. 2 meeting Monday against Oklahoma.
Here's how the rest of my Associated Press Top 25 ballot looked:
(Last week's ranking in parentheses; records through Sunday)
1. (2) Kansas 12-1.
2. (4) Oklahoma 12-0.
3. (3) Maryland 13-1.
4. (5) Virginia 12-1.
5. (1) Michigan State 14-1.
6. (6) Arizona 13-1.
7. (7) North Carolina 13-2.
8. (9) Kentucky 11-2.
9. (11) Providence 14-1.
10. (12) Miami 12-1.
11. (10) Iowa State 11-2.
12. (8) Xavier 13-1.
13. (14) Louisville 12-2.
14. (15) Duke 12-2.
15. (17) Villanova 12-2.
16. (18) SMU 13-0.
17. (19) West Virginia 12-1.
18. (20) Texas A 11-2.
19. (13) Butler 11-3.
20. (NR) Iowa 11-3.
21. (16) Purdue 13-2.
22. (23) South Carolina 13-0.
23. (24) Pittsburgh 12-1.
24. (22) Baylor 10-3.
25. (NR) Dayton 11-2.
--Dropped out: Utah (21), Cincinnati (25).
--I had kept Oklahoma behind Maryland until this week. The Sooners' 87-83 victory Saturday against a solid Iowa State team and the Terrapins' struggles in a 70-64 victory against Penn State convinced me to swap. Plus, Oklahoma remaining undefeated at this stage is worthy of a bump.
--Besides the football team, Iowa may have had one of the best weeks in college sports. The Hawkeyes caught everyone's attention with a victory against Michigan State, which was without injured star Denzel Valentine. Then they proved themselves by rallying from 19 down to beat Purdue on the road.
The Hawkeyes' only losses were to Dayton, Notre Dame and at Iowa State. Not shabby.
--Speaking of Dayton, the Flyers' loss to Xavier is excusable and the defeat to Chattanooga is confusing. But Dayton appears to be legitimate with wins against Alabama and Vanderbilt and especially a November victory against Iowa to its credit.
sryan@tribpub.com
