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Jayhawks see favorable bump with latest AP Poll despite up-and-down week

The Kansas Jayhawks' latest rank in the AP Poll doesn't sound the alarm bells that others thought it might
ByConnor Mardian|
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Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts to a play against Arizona Wildcats during the game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9, 2026.
Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts to a play against Arizona Wildcats during the game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9, 2026. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kansas has probably landed towards the positive zone in your up-to-date rankings of college basketball just slightly, but it really depends on how you look at this past week.

For some, beating an undefeated No. 1 Arizona at home would be their season completed, yet not every school has the expectations of KU. So while that 82-78 win will be remembered positively, the momentum must have continued. Instead, it took a big hit when the Jayhawks fell to No. 5 Iowa State in an ugly 74-56 loss on Saturday. 

A move up in the AP Poll

Unlike a skeptical KU fan who —debatably rightly— questions Kansas’ steel away from home, Monday’s recent reveal of the AP poll has seen the Jayhawks rise to the No. 8 spot, an improvement of one since last week. 

The Jayhawks are one of six teams inside the Big 12 to make the list. Houston is squared away nicely in second as they continue an unbeaten run which has now reached six games. Arizona falls to the fourth slot after back-to-back losses to KU and No. 16 Texas Tech. 

While beating Kansas was a major thumbs up to the committee, it did not fully compensate for the Cyclones’ loss to an unranked TCU squad, meaning they now find themselves No. 6.  

Behind Kansas is No. 13 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders picked up a blowout 78-44 win over Colorado before taking down the Wildcats. 

Lastly is the No. 23 BYU Cougars. Prior to their short-two-game winning run, the Cougars had gone 1-5 over their last six games, but have recovered their form and now must plan for a future without star guard Richie Saunders, who tore his ACL in BYU’s 90-86 win over the Buffaloes.

What is next for the Jayhawks

Over recent renditions of this article, Kansas has often faced ranked competition within hours of publishing. 

This week, however, sees a bit of a downturn in the quality of opposition, as Kansas is set to face both Oklahoma State and Cincinnati, teams that both sit outside the top 60 of the NCAA’s net ranking system with spots in 72nd and 63rd, respectively. 

While the next couple of games are slightly easier to map out, the importance of Kansas capitalizing on those opportunities is at an all-time high.

This impetus was also present when Kansas opened up Big 12 play with games against UCF, TCU, and WVU, and Kansas barely made it out with a 1 -2 record.

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