Kansas Falls to No. 18 In Latest Poll

Following a home loss to San Diego State, the Jayhawks fourth of the year, Kansas checks in at no. 18 in this weeks AP and coaches poll as they head into what looks to be a brutal Big 12 schedule.   The Jayhawks will tip off that schedule on the road in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners who sit just outside the top 25 in the, "others receiving votes" category.

Following the game in Norman, Bill Self will return to Allen Fieldhouse with his young Jayhawk team and prepare to do battle with the Kansas State Wildcats in a game that has now become a matchup between top 25 teams.  Kansas State is coming off of a big win over Oklahoma State to start league play and they enter this weeks top 25 at no. 25 with an 11-3 record.

The non-conference schedule was a challenge for Kansas and the Jayhawks finished at 9-4 with several tough losses to some very strong opponents.  That was somewhat expected heading into the season and the hope was that Kansas would grow and learn from that experience before heading into league play as a bit of a more finished product.  Unfortunately Sunday's loss didn't really give that vibe at all.  Instead Kansas still looks like a team a bit lost on the court offensively and the leadership factor doesn't seem to be there at all.  This was a group full of potential, but right now they still appear to be much more potential than substance and now things are going to start counting a whole lot more.

Wednesday and Saturday will be two tough early tests for this team as they look to push the Jayhawk's Big 12 streak to ten.  Getting to that point this year is going to be a challenge.

• Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 103, Creighton 82, North Carolina 79, UCLA 79, Pittsburgh 44, Connecticut 41, Harvard 41, Saint Louis 19, Oklahoma 15, Michigan 11, George Washington 9, Southern Methodist 9, Xavier 3, Notre Dame 3, Toledo 2, Arkansas 1