LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball suffered a loss in its only game during the past week, an 81-75 defeat on the road against UCF, and is now ranked No. 21 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The Jayhawks (10-4, 0-1 in Big 12) were ranked No. 17 last week. So, with that loss in their Big 12 Conference opener, they dropped four spots. Next up for KU are a pair of league games this week, Tuesday at home against TCU, and Saturday on the road against West Virginia.
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RELATED: 3 takeaways from Kansas basketball’s road loss in Big 12 play at UCF
Kansas’ Big 12 opener at UCF did see freshman guard Darryn Peterson return, after he missed a pair of games and nine of the first 13, but it also saw his injury status remain a topic after he didn’t play much in the second half. Although he’s in line to play against TCU, it’s unclear how much the Jayhawks will be able to rely upon him. Against UCF, he scored 26 points but 23 of those came in the first half when he played the majority of his minutes.
The Big 12 also has No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 7 Houston, No. 9 BYU and No. 14 Texas Tech. Although TCU isn’t ranked, it did win its Big 12 opener against Baylor. The Horned Frogs are 11-3 overall this season.
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self reacts along with players during the second half of a game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi inside Allen Fieldhouse on Nov. 11, 2025.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Did Kansas basketball drop in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll?