Kansas still No. 1 ahead of Duke showdown; Tennessee rises to 7 - ESPN

Kansas remained solidly entrenched at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll Monday ahead of its showdown with No. 11 Duke in Las Vegas, while a pair of schools from the Magnolia State elbowed their way back into the rankings.

Ole Miss returned to the poll at No. 23 while Mississippi State made its season debut at No. 25.

The Jayhawks received 51 of 62 first-place votes from the national panel of media, putting them well ahead of two-time reigning national champion UConn, which was second with six first-place votes. Gonzaga was third with two first-place votes, Auburn was next with three, and Iowa State rounded out a top five that was unchanged from the previous week.

First-place votes in parentheses

There's a good chance for movement next week, though, with a host of high-profile matchups in holiday tournaments, and that matchup between the Jayhawks and Duke on Tuesday night in the Vegas Showdown.

«Oh yeah, I've watched them,» said Kansas coach Bill Self, who picked up his 800th career win by beating UNC Wilmington last week. «They're talented across the board. They're starting three freshmen, and everybody's going to talk about the one (Cooper Flagg), but the other two are potential lottery picks, if not lottery picks too.»

So do the Jayhawks, who have already beaten No. 12 North Carolina and Michigan State this season.

Tennessee climbed four spots to No. 7 in this week's poll, followed by SEC rivals Kentucky and Alabama. Marquette was 10th after beating then-No. 6 Purdue and Georgia last week to reach 6-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

The Blue Devils and Tar Heels were followed by Purdue, which fell seven spots in the poll. Indiana and Wisconsin made it three straight Big Ten schools,