ESPN.com's Power Rankings: Feb. 4

Season: 2008 | 2009 | 2010
Week: 1 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Try as Colorado might, it was unable to knock off Kansas, as the Jayhawks stayed perfect in Big 12 play and maintained their place at the top.

Things got more interesting at No. 2, as Syracuse and Villanova each earned a No. 1 vote, while Kentucky came in behind them at No. 4.

Baylor, Northern Iowa and Cornell are the new entrants to this week's Top 25.

Here is this week's Power Rankings:



Power Rankings | Voters 1-5 | Voters 6-10
Power Rankings
 RK (LW)TEAMRECORDPOINTSCOMMENTS
1 (1)Kansas (8)21-1247The Rocky Mountain air turned out to be not as comfortable as the Jayhawks might have hoped coming off their trying win at Kansas State this past weekend. But the top-ranked team took care of business on the road, finishing off Colorado in overtime to remain unbeaten in Big 12 play.
2 (2)Syracuse (1)22-1237Wes Johnson spent much of the second half on the bench after a nasty fall early in the game. But Kris Joseph (23 points, seven rebounds) ensured Syracuse's passage past Providence on Tuesday night. The win over the Friars gave the Orange their best start in school history.
3 (3)Villanova (1)20-1231Since suffering its only loss on Dec. 13 to Temple, Villanova has rolled off 11 straight wins, scoring at least 90 points in six of those games and at least 80 in all but one. A daunting two-game road swing begins Saturday at Georgetown and ends Monday at West Virginia.
4 (4)Kentucky21-1225Kentucky bounced back in style after its loss to South Carolina, handing Vanderbilt its first SEC loss before brushing aside Ole Miss. The Wildcats hit the road Saturday to visit SEC-winless LSU.
5 (8)West Virginia18-3208Objects were thrown onto the floor, Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins had to address the crowd and a referee found himself on the ground as he tried to separate two players involved in an unpleasant exchange of words. It was just another Big East battle between WVU and Pitt. The Mountaineers won the game, their fifth straight. A visit to St. John's is next.
6 (10)Purdue18-3192The best news for Purdue was the Wisconsin win over Michigan State that slowed the Spartans' tear through Big Ten play. The Boilermakers will have a chance to earn their own win over MSU when they visit East Lansing on Tuesday.
7 (5)Michigan State19-4183A loss to Wisconsin gave Michigan State its first blemish in Big Ten play and signaled to the rest of the league that the title ending up in East Lansing is not a mere formality. The Spartans look to get back on track when they visit Illinois on Saturday night.
8 (6)Texas19-3177The Longhorns ended a mini-slide with a come-from-behind win at Oklahoma State. Two games still separate Texas from Big 12 leader Kansas, however, and all that stands between their matchup on Monday is a visit to Oklahoma on Saturday.
9 (11)Kansas State18-4169Kansas State took some of the edge off its loss to Kansas with a convincing win at Nebraska. The Wildcats will be among the more interested parties watching KU-Texas on Monday, but they'll have to deal with a Saturday trip to Iowa State first.
10 (12)Georgetown16-5151Georgetown became the latest team to fall victim to South Florida's recent torrid run through Big East play. The headliner of the act, Dominique Jones, torched the Hoyas for 29 points, including 22 in the second half. Georgetown hosts Villanova on Saturday.
11 (13)Brigham Young22-2145We may be a lot closer to deciding the MWC champion after Saturday. Or we might not. That depends on BYU's trip to UNLV. The Cougars could give themselves a two-game cushion over the Rebels with a win or find themselves equal in the loss column with UNLV and New Mexico.
12 (7)Duke17-4144The Blue Devils have a chance to rebound from their loss to Georgetown this past weekend with Thursday night's rematch against Georgia Tech (ESPN2, 7 ET). A two-game road swing through Boston College and North Carolina will follow.
13 (15)Wisconsin17-5139A convincing win over Michigan State has Wisconsin well positioned to mount a challenge to the Spartans in the Big Ten. While MSU and Purdue square off next week, the Badgers have a manageable run of league games with a visit to Michigan followed by home games against Illinois and Indiana.
14 (19)Ohio State17-6104The Buckeyes will look to make it seven league wins in a row when Iowa visits Sunday. After that, however, Ohio State will face a stretch in which it will play four of five games on the road with trips to Michigan State and Illinois on the slate.
15 (9)Gonzaga17-497Gonzaga coach Mark Few said the Zags have been playing with fire lately. They finally got burned against San Francisco, which ended the Bulldogs' long WCC winning streak. Time to start another one, but it won't be easy with Portland on deck Thursday (ESPN2, 11 ET).
16 (13)Vanderbilt17-493Following its first SEC loss to UK, Vanderbilt avoided doubling its trouble by holding off Mississippi State at home Wednesday night. The Commodores are off to their best start in the SEC since the 1992-93 season and will visit Georgia on Saturday.
17 (17)Tennessee16-481Fresh off a thrilling one-point win over Florida on Sunday, the Vols hope things won't get that exciting against LSU on Thursday (ESPN2, 9 ET). Then they'll host South Carolina on Saturday before hitting the road for games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
18 (22)New Mexico20-375Six straight wins, including a victory over then-No.10 BYU, have the Lobos very confident these days. And how's this for consistency? New Mexico has won at least 20 games for the third consecutive season under coach Steve Alford.
19 (18)Temple19-474The Owls' bench came through in a big way in a win over Duquesne on Wednesday by scoring 25 points, all in the first half. A repeat performance would come in handy when Temple visits Richmond on Saturday (ESPNU, 2 ET) in a game with significant implications for the A-10 race.
20 (24)Georgia Tech16-573After routing Kentucky State (that's right) on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will face a much stiffer test at Duke on Thursday (ESPN2, 7 ET). Georgia Tech won the only other game between the two this season, a four-point triumph in January.
21 (20)Butler18-455Butler is well on its way to a fourth straight Horizon League championship. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight but visit Detroit on Thursday. The Titans pushed Butler to its limits in overtime when the teams last met in January.
22 (30)Baylor17-451The Bears followed up their big win over Texas with a victory over Iowa State. LaceDarius Dunn hit 20 points for the fifth time in his past eight games as Baylor won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 9.
23 (27)Northern Iowa20-235The good times keep rolling for the Panthers, who have won 18 of their past 19, including 11 straight at home, to take a commanding three-game lead atop the MVC. Their only loss during that stretch was to Wichita State, but they avenged that defeat Wednesday.
24Cornell18-316After the Big Red thrashed Harvard in a 36-point win Saturday, the Ivy League title seems as though it's Cornell's to lose. But the Big Red aren't just about the Ivy, however. Their only losses this season are to Seton Hall and at Syracuse and Kansas.
24 (16)Pittsburgh16-616Suddenly, Pitt is 6-4 in the Big East after stumbling to four losses in five games after a 5-0 start. The Panthers are home for their next three games, starting with Seton Hall on Saturday.
Others receiving votes: Wake Forest (10), Texas A&M (6), South Florida (6), Clemson (4), Xavier (3), Saint Mary's (2), Siena (1), Florida State (1)

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