Kansas stays at No. 1, while Florida State surges into top five of men’s basketball poll

The penultimate USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll of the regular season has unanimity at the top for the second consecutive week.

Kansas retains the No. 1 ranking with all 32 first-place votes. The Jayhawks survived a road challenge at Texas Tech and once again enter the Big 12 tournament as the top seed. The next two spots also remain steady. Gonzaga, which resumes action in the West Coast Conference tournament tonight, stays at No. 2 followed by No. 3 Dayton, which completed a sweep of the Atlantic-10 and enters the league tournament on a 20-game winning streak.

Kansas forward Udoka Azubuike keeps the ball from Texas Tech defenders during the second half at United Supermarkets Arena. (Photo: Michael C. Johnson, USA TODAY Sports)

Florida State vaults to No. 4, a gain of four positions, after claiming the ACC regular season crown. The Seminoles, who reached their highest ranking since USA TODAY started administering the poll in the 1991-92 season, slip ahead of No. 5 Baylor, which lost its regular-season finale at West Virginia.

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San Diego State falls one spot to No. 6 after a three-point loss to Utah State in the Mountain West tournament title game. Kentucky also drops a position to No. 7. The Wildcats rebounded from a midweek loss to Tennessee with a win at Florida on the eve of the SEC tournament.

Villanova and Creighton, who share the Big East regular-season championship along with No. 15 Seton Hall, hold down the No. 8 and 9 spots, respectively, with Duke rounding out the top 10.

West Virginia, thanks to that Baylor victory, moves back into the poll at No. 23. Penn State is the week’s lone dropout.

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