Kansas Jayhawks Get Blown Out By Kansas St. 84-68 In Debut at No. 1

Duke held onto the No. 1 ranking for 10 weeks. Ohio State maintained it for four.  The Kansas Jayhawks effectively defended college basketball's No. 1 ranking for a little over nine hours.

Last night, in a game against in-state rival Kansas State, the Jayhawks never had a chance and lost, 84-68.

Unless Texas, Ohio State, Pitt and Duke all lose a game this week, the Jayhawks will lose their No. 1 ranking in the next Coaches' Poll.

But fans have wondered if Kansas and its Big 12 partner Texas were overrated and should have ever been moved up to No. 1 and No. 2 in this week's Coaches' Poll.

Which Jayhawk team showed up last night?

Kansas' lofty 24-2 record may not be as impressive as it looks.

First of all, the two losses are bad losses. Losing at home to Texas 74-63 when they held a large halftime lead shows frailty and losing by 16, immediately after the Coaches' Poll placed them at No. 1, leaves fans wondering if this team possesses enough focus to win against elite teams.

Kansas owns victories over three teams presently ranked ( No. 13 Arizona, No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 21 Missouri). Hardly a No. 1-type accomplishment, considering the two huge defeats. They also own an OT win over unranked Michigan, a one-point win over unranked UCLA, a two-point win over unranked USC and a three-point win over unranked Nebraska.

Now the Jayhawks sit two games behind Texas in the Big 12 Conference race. Is this the position in which the nation's No. 1 team should find itself? 

Does Big 12's "Big Two" get preferred treatment in the polls?

Have the polls been overrating Kansas and Texas all year? Is this week's Coaches' Poll a perfect example of favoritism?

No. 3 Ohio State (24-1) suffered its first loss of the season at No. 10 Wisconsin this past Saturday, 71-67. It was a game in which the Buckeyes weren't even favored to win.

Under head coach Bo Ryan, the Badgers have compiled a home record of 140-11.

Ohio State holds a two-game lead in the Big Ten, a tougher conference than the Big 12, and the pollsters saw fit to raise Kansas above them in the rankings.

Texas, the sweetheart of college basketball, has been ranked ahead of No. 4 Pittsburgh, a team that beat them earlier in the year. Pittsburgh also has fewer defeats on the season and with a  conference record of 11-1 holds a two-game lead over Notre Dame in the Big East standings.

Was Pitt overlooked again?

Texas (22-3) took a big jump in the polls with their win at Kansas on January 22.  The Longhorns went from No. 8 to No. 3 and jumped Pitt in the process.

This past weekend Pitt (23-2) beat No. 14 Villanova 57-54 and stopped the Wildcats' 46-game home win streak. They did this without their leading scorer Ashton Gibbs.

Instead of gaining ground on the Longhorns, who handled Baylor at home, 69-60, the Panthers lost ground to Texas in the Coaches' Poll. 

Last week they sat one place and 43 total points behind. This week they find themselves two places and 49 total points behind.

Why are pollsters impressed with Kansas and Texas?

Kansas and Texas are good teams. They both belong somewhere in the Top 10, but why have pollsters placed them No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in front of Ohio State, Pitt, Duke and BYU?

Maybe what's impressing the pollsters is the dominance these two have shown in the Big 12. While that dominance ended for Kansas last night, Texas remains undefeated (9-0 in the Big 12) and is winning conference games by an average of 20 points.

Both teams have had their difficulties outside the Big 12: Kansas squeaked by Michigan, USC and UCLA, while Texas has genuinely struggled in non-conference games.

The Longhorns suffered a 17-point loss to USC, a two-point loss to Pitt and an OT loss at home to UConn. They had to go to overtime to beat Illinois, they beat No. 21 North Carolina by two and they beat Rice by three.