Houston jumps Kansas into No. 2 spot in men's college basketball poll - ESPN

Purdue held its place atop the AP Top 25 on Monday following its win over Illinois in a top-10 showdown, while Houston jumped Kansas into second place as the last unbeaten team in Division I men's college basketball.

The Boilermakers, who beat the No. 9 Illini 83-78 last week, picked up five more first-place votes and had 54 of the 63 possible to remain at No. 1 for the fourth straight week. The Cougars received seven first-place votes and were second, while the Jayhawks had the other two first-place votes but fell a spot to third after their down-to-the-wire win over TCU.

Houston is 14-0 for the third time in school history after beginning its Big 12 tenure with a romp past West Virginia. Losses by James Madison and Ole Miss left the Cougars with the only unblemished record.

«I think our kids have always had a bit of a chip on their shoulders here,» Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. «We've had to get some of our own fans to understand that we're pretty good. They were so bad for so long. Some of them still have not figured it out. Our kids have, and our coaches have, and we know who we are. And what we're capable of doing.»

In truth, the Cougars have been doing it for a while now. They went to the Final Four three years ago, the Elite Eight two years ago and the Sweet 16 last season, when they spent seven week atop the AP poll.

«Every team is different,» Cougars guard Jamal Shead said. «I think with this team, just like all the other teams, we're bonded off the court. I think that plays a big part in being able to get onto each other in game and be able to say anything to each other. We know we aren't going to take it the wrong way, so we're able to get on each other and keep pushing.»

Defending national champion UConn