Quick trip to No. 1 for Self, Jayhawks

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bill Self didn't have to wait to be No. 1 at Kansas.

The Jayhawks, taking advantage of losses by the top four teams last week, jumped from sixth to No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll Monday.

Their move to the top was the biggest in almost 40 years and matched the second biggest in the history of the poll, which started in the 1948-49 season.

"I don't believe we're deserving of it, but I don't know if anyone is right now," the first-year coach said before Monday morning's shootaround. "There are probably 10 to 12 teams out there who could be No. 1 the way things played out last week."

Kansas (2-0) beat then-No. 3 Michigan State 81-74 in their only game last week, and combined with losses by Connecticut, Duke and Arizona (Nos. 1, 2 and 4 last week) and an unimpressive win by then-No. 5 Missouri, it meant another trip to No. 1.

Florida beat Arizona to move up from eighth to No. 2 this week. Georgia Tech defeated Connecticut, and Purdue beat Duke, moving them into the rankings for the first time this season. Georgia Tech was 13th, and the Boilermakers were 20th.

Kansas was ranked No. 1 for four weeks in the 2001-02 season, its first stint at the top since getting there for five straight seasons from 1992-93 through 1996-97.

Nine teams received first-place votes this week, backing up Self's point of not being deserving of the top spot.

"Although it's very early, we'll enjoy the time we have it and we certainly hope to maintain it," said Self, who took over when Roy Williams left after 14 seasons to become coach at North Carolina.

The Jayhawks were at Texas Christian on Monday night, their first game since starting guard Michael Lee broke his right collarbone in practice last week. He is expected to be out for up to two months.

Kansas' jump from No. 6 to No. 1 matched Duke's rise on Dec. 14, 1965, and those were second only to West Virginia's moving from No. 8 to No. 1 on Dec. 24, 1957.

The Jayhawks received 52 first-place votes and 1,750 points from the 72-member national media panel, 146 more than Florida (2-0), which was No. 1 on eight ballots.

Connecticut, which was a runaway No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the first two weeks of the regular season, dropped to third following its 77-61 loss to Georgia Tech in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT. The Huskies (4-1) received one No. 1 vote.

Wayne Simien scored 28 points in a win against Michigan State. AP

Missouri, the only member of last week's top five that didn't lose, moved up one place to fourth after beating Oakland, Mich., 90-85 in its season opener. The Tigers got three first-place votes.

Michigan State (3-1) dropped from third to fifth, while Duke (3-1) fell from second to sixth after losing 78-68 to Purdue in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Arizona (1-1) fell from fourth to seventh with the 78-77 loss to Florida in the Tipoff Classic, while Texas, Kentucky and North Carolina rounded out the Top 10.

Texas had two first-place votes and Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina had one each.

Georgia Tech was the ninth school to get at least one first-place vote and the Yellow Jackets were No. 1 on three ballots.

Illinois moved up one spot to 11th, followed by Saint Joseph's, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Purdue.

The last five ranked teams were Stanford, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette and Oklahoma State.

Syracuse, which beat Kansas for the national title last year, was the other team in last week's Top 10 to lose a game. The Orangemen (1-1) were beaten 96-92 at home by Charlotte in their season opener and dropped from seventh to No. 16.

Louisville (0-1), which lost 70-69 in overtime to Iowa, fell out of the rankings from No. 17. North Carolina State (3-0) fell out from 25th despite wins over Howard and Florida A&M by an average of 25 points.