Baylor took over the No. 1 ranking in men's basketball for the first time in school history in the latest Associated Press college basketball poll released Monday.
The unbeaten Bears (15-0) took advantage of Villanova's loss at Butler last week to claim the top spot, ending the reigning NCAA champions' five-week run at No. 1.
Baylor, ranked second a week ago, received 55 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel following narrow Big 12 Conference victories over Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
Kansas (14-1) gave the Big 12 the top two spots in the poll, earning eight first-place votes, while third-ranked Villanova (15-1) and No. 4 UCLA (16-1) each snagged the remaining first-place votes.
Undefeated Gonzaga (15-0) and Kentucky (13-2) held steady at Nos. 5 and 6 while the top 10 was rounded out by Duke (14-2), Creighton (15-1), Florida State (15-1) and another Big 12 member in West Virginia (13-2).
Following North Carolina (14-3) at No. 11 was Butler (14-2), which made the biggest jump by climbing six spots after handing Villanova its first defeat. Oregon (15-2), Louisville (13-3), Xavier (13-2), Arizona (15-2), Purdue (14-3), Wisconsin (13-3), Virginia (12-3) and Notre Dame (14-2) filled out the Top 20.
The final six spots were occupied by Saint Mary's (14-1), Cincinnati (13-2), Florida (12-3), Minnesota (15-2) and USC (15-2) and Kansas State (13-2), who were tied at No. 25.
Minnesota and Kansas State were both newcomers to the poll, replacing Virginia Tech and Indiana.
