Kansas news: Jayhawks finish at No. 4 in final AP Top 25 poll

In AP’s final Top 25 poll of the season, Kansas dipped one spot from their previous ranking to finish No. 4 in the country.

Although the Selection Sunday committee gave the Jayhawks the third overall seed, the recent AP poll also placed Purdue above them. Alabama and Houston filled out the No. 1 and 2 spots — it was the first time in Alabama’s history that they finished 1st.

Kansas would have been able to make a case as the top team in the country had they defeated Texas in the Big 12 championship game. They were above Alabama in last week’s rankings, and both teams previously ahead of KU (UCLA and Houston) lost in their conference title games.

Instead, the Jayhawks had to take a dip in the poll as punishment for their ugly loss. They also saw the committee punish them by placing them in the West rather than the Midwest region, where they would have eventually been able to play in Kansas City.

It was the 11th time during Bill Self’s tenure that a Kansas team has finished top 4 in the final poll. The 2007-08 championship-winning team finished 4th as well, so perhaps that is a foreshadowing of what is to come for this year’s squad.

Four other schools in the Big 12 were included in the final poll — Texas was one spot below Kansas in the 5th spot, Baylor was 11th, Kansas State was 15th, and TCU finished 22nd.

The AP Poll has very little significance, but it is always nice to see Kansas on it. They have only missed it once since the 2008-09 season. Even if voters do not think that KU is the best team in the nation, they can prove it during the NCAA Tournament that begins in just a couple of days.