College basketball rankings: Kansas and Baylor meet in top-10 showdown with first place in Big 12 on the line

Kansas was, just three weeks ago, 5-3 in the Big 12 and on a three-game losing streak heading into a SEC/Big 12 Challenge game against Kentucky inside Rupp Arena. Suddenly, Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Bill Self was on the verge of possibly suffering the first four-game losing streak in his 20 years at KU, and the likelihood of winning at least a share of a 17th Big 12 regular-season title seemed more in jeopardy than it’s normally been.

But now look.

The Jayhawks A) beat John Calipari’s Wildcats on the road to snap their three-game losing streak three Saturdays ago, B) are 5-1 since losing 75-69 at Baylor last month and, C) are sitting atop the league standings — in a first-place tie with Texas and Baylor. That’s among the reasons Saturday’s rematch between the Jayhawks and Bears — i.e, the sport’s past two national champions — is arguably the weekend’s top game, because only the winner inside Allen Fieldhouse will remain in first with just four regular-season contests remaining.

“The season has been flying by,” said Kansas star Jalen Wilson. “It feels like [just] yesterday, we lost three in a row. But we’ve been pulling out some good games … and now we’re back right in the position we want to be in.”

Kansas is No. 3 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings — behind only No. 1 Houston and No. 2 Alabama. Baylor is No. 6. The Jayhawks and Bears are two of the five Big 12 schools in the top 16 of the Top 25 And 1. The others are No. 7 Texas, No. 15 Iowa State and No. 16 Kansas State.