The Jayhawks (26-3) moved up two places to the top spot, receiving 58 first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel.
Kansas is the sixth school to be No. 1 this season. The Jayhawks were on top last season for five weeks, including the final three polls of the season.
Villanova (27-3) remained second despite losing to Butler last week. The Wildcats were No. 1 on two ballots. UCLA (26-3), which was No. 1 on three ballots, moved up from fifth to third after its win over Arizona on Saturday.
Gonzaga (29-1) fell to fourth after losing its first game of the season, an upset by BYU on Saturday. The Zags, who had been No. 1 for the last four polls, received two first-place votes.
North Carolina moved from eighth to fifth and was followed by Oregon, Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky and West Virginia.
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 26, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kansas (58) | 26-3 | 1618 | 3 |
| 2. Villanova (2) | 27-3 | 1487 | 2 |
| 3. UCLA (3) | 26-3 | 1474 | 5 |
| 4. Gonzaga (2) | 29-1 | 1419 | 1 |
| 5. North Carolina | 25-5 | 1381 | 8 |
| 6. Oregon | 26-4 | 1343 | 6 |
| 7. Arizona | 26-4 | 1223 | 4 |
| 8. Louisville | 23-6 | 1176 | 7 |
| 9. Kentucky | 24-5 | 1119 | 11 |
| 10. West Virginia | 23-6 | 1041 | 12 |
| 11. Baylor | 23-6 | 923 | 9 |
| 12. Florida | 23-6 | 807 | 13 |
| 13. Butler | 23-6 | 795 | 22 |
| 14. SMU | 25-4 | 738 | 17 |
| 15. Florida State | 23-6 | 722 | 19 |
| 16. Purdue | 23-6 | 651 | 14 |
| 17. Duke | 22-7 | 622 | 10 |
| 18. Cincinnati | 25-4 | 504 | 15 |
| 19. Notre Dame | 22-7 | 482 | 21 |
| 20. Saint Mary's | 26-3 | 445 | 20 |
| 21. Wichita State | 27-4 | 250 | 25 |
| 22. Wisconsin | 22-7 | 206 | 16 |
| 23. Virginia | 19-9 | 194 | 18 |
| 24. Iowa State | 19-9 | 168 | — |
| 25. Miami | 20-8 | 123 | — |
Others receiving votes: Minnesota 66, Oklahoma State 54, Dayton 32, Michigan 14, Middle Tennessee 13, Creighton 12, Southern Cal 7, Michigan State 3, Monmouth 3, Vermont 2, VCU 2, Virginia Tech 2, Arkansas 1, BYU 1, Maryland 1, Princeton 1.
