Texas leaps to No. 4 in latest AP Poll

Texas Longhorns men’s basketball (8-1, 2-0) is hot right now.

Last week, the Longhorns blew the Kansas Jayhawks out of the water in Lawrence. In fact, it was Kansas head coach Bill Self’s worst home loss across his 18 years with the program, as CBS Sports noted earlier today. It was also enough to boost Texas to No. 4 in the AP Poll, a highlight to the fact that the 25-point win over Kansas was the Texas program’s second-largest road win over an AP top five-ranked opponent across its decorated team history.

That’s a four-spot increase after Texas was ranked No. 8 in last week’s poll.

Meanwhile, Big 12 rival Kansas dropped from No. 3 to No. 6.

The Baylor Bears are still ranked No. 2 in the latest AP Poll, while the Gonzaga Bulldogs hold the nation’s top spot.

The Longhorns will face the Iowa State Cyclones on Tuesday.

Following last week’s win, ESPN also named the Longhorns the Team of the Week. From ESPN’s commentary: “So what has changed for Texas since last season? After all, this was a team that would have likely missed the NCAA tournament and had Smart squarely on the hot seat. If you ask Coleman, it’s simply a case of the team maturing and playing more connected, especially defensively. “It has a lot to do with everybody having the same goal,” Coleman said after the game. If Jones and potential lottery pick Greg Brown keep making strides, that goal could realistically be a Final Four appearance.”