The Kansas Jayhawks are the new No. 1 team in the AP Poll as of Monday. Kansas won both of their games over the last week, defeating TCU by 19 points and Texas by 10. As a result they improved to 26-3 and, with two other top teams suffering losses, Kansas gained two spots in the rankings to find themselves as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Gonzaga, Villanova both lost last week
Heading into last week, the No. 1 seed was Gonzaga's to lose. The Bulldogs were undefeated at 28-0 and they had two games, both of which appeared to be 'dunks' for victory.
Against San Diego, the Zags put up a near 60-point spread before hosting BYU in their last regular season game of the current season. In a shocking upset, BYU pulled off the victory, handing Gonzaga their first loss of the season 79-71.
As of Monday, the Bulldogs are 29-1 and the fourth team according to the AP Poll. They did still receive two No. 1 votes and they still have the best winning percentage in college basketball. However, winning percentage isn't the all-pervasive criteria and Gonzaga lose on strength of schedule. They may yet get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament as they are still top four in both polls.
Villanova was one team that had a chance to get to the top spot. However, the Wildcats dropped an 8-point decision to Butler, one that sent those Bulldogs surging up the rankings on Monday.
Butler moved from the No. 22 position to the No. 13 position in the AP Poll, having also defeated Xavier by nine. For Villanova, they didn't lose ground as they remained No. 2 on Monday.
Other big movers in rankings
The UCLA Bruins had a productive week as they won two road games at Arizona State and Arizona. That saw them jump two spots to the No.
3 position. North Carolina gained three spots with two double-digit wins against Louisville and Pittsburgh. As for downward trends, the now-No. 17 Duke Blue Devils lost seven spots thanks to losses at Syracuse and at Miami. Furthermore, the Wisconsin Badgers dropped two games on the road, both by ten points, to Oklahoma State and Michigan State. The losses saw them lose six positions in the updated rankings and they are now the No. 22 ranked team.
