Kansas basketball: Jayhawks remain just outside No. 1 spot in latest AP Poll

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks picked up one of the program's best road victories in recent history on Saturday when they went into Bloomington and defeated Indiana 75-71. However, there was also a matchup between a pair of top-3 teams, and it was all but pre-decided that the winner would finish at No. 1 in the AP Poll.

Purdue defeated Arizona to reclaim the top spot in college basketball. They received 48 of 62 votes at No. 1 in the recent poll. No. 2 Kansas received six, while fellow Big 12 school Houston had eight and finished No. 3. Other schools include No. 4 Arizona and No. 5 UConn, who the Jayhawks beat in an Allen Fieldhouse thriller.

Although the Boilermakers were upset by Northwestern on the road, the committee overlooked it, which is probably fair for a trap game at the beginning of December. Most teams are still looking for their identity and will get better as the season progresses. The Big 12 Conference makes up half of the undefeated squads in the recent AP Top 25 (Houston and Oklahoma).

Kansas basketball only faces Yale this week, with the contest coming on Friday night. Meanwhile, Purdue essentially has two 'buy games' before conference play is in full swing against Jacksonville and Eastern Kentucky. With the lack of competition awaiting Matt Painter's group, we can expect them to stay atop the rankings for the next two weeks.

After KU takes on the Ivy League competitor, the team has a neutral site game against Wichita State on Dec. 30. Big 12 games begin when the calendar turns to the year 2024, with the first meeting coming against TCU in Allen Fieldhouse. Hopefully, by that time, Kansas will begin playing its best basketball, and struggling players like Nick Timberlake will come out of their shells.