COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Kansas Falls After Move to No. 1

For the second consecutive season, Kansas moved to the top of the Associated Press college basketball poll only to lose hours later.

The Jayhawks moved to No. 1 for the third consecutive season Monday and became the fifth team to hold the top spot this season.

On Monday night, they lost to No. 25 Oklahoma, 76-73, at Norman, Okla. They suffered the same fate last season, losing at home to Kansas State only hours after assuming the No. 1 spot.

“We talked about it,” Coach Roy Williams said after the loss. “If we go down in history as having the two shortest stays at No. 1 in the history of college basketball, I’ll be thankful we got there.”

The Jayhawks, 20-4 overall and 9-3 in the Big Eight, jumped from third to first after weekend losses by last week’s top two--Connecticut and North Carolina. They were a runaway No. 1 choice, receiving 54 first-place votes and 1,637 points from a national media panel to easily outdistance UCLA.

The Bruins (18-2) jumped from sixth to second after beating Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Sunday. UCLA, which was No. 2 for a five-week stint earlier in the season before falling as low as seventh, was No. 1 on 12 ballots and had 1,546 points.

North Carolina (20-3), which lost at Virginia on Sunday, 73-71, with a chance to return to No. 1 at stake, was third, while Connecticut (20-2), which had its run as No. 1 ended after a week, was fourth. The Huskies had a 27-game home winning streak ended by Villanova on Saturday, 96-73.

Six schools held the No. 1 ranking in each of the last two seasons. The season record for No. 1s is seven in 1982-83.

“I’ve got no problem being ranked No. 1, particularly at this time of year, because it means you’ve accomplished something,” Williams said.

But it didn’t help against Oklahoma, which got a three-point basket from Ernie Abercrombie with 45 seconds remaining to take a 74-73 lead. Then, after a Kansas turnover, Ryan Minor made both ends of a one-and-one with 12 seconds to play, giving the Sooners (20-6, 7-4) a 76-73 lead.

Jerod Haase’s three-point shot from the top of the key bounced off the rim into the hands of Oklahoma guard John Ontjes, who dribbled out the final few seconds to set off a wild celebration on court.

Kansas had overcome a 13-point deficit to lead by as many as six points in the second half, but the Jayhawks couldn’t hold on.

“That was a great example of hanging in there, playing with great heart, of stick-to-itiveness,” Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson said.

“I thought Kansas played hard and played well, but I thought Oklahoma tonight was a better basketball team.”

Oklahoma got 28 points from Minor to remain unbeaten in 14 home games this season.

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Georgetown 77, No. 9 Villanova 52--With President Clinton in attendance, freshman Allen Iverson scored 26 points to lead the Hoyas (16-7, 9-6) over the Wildcats (19-6, 12-3) in a Big East game at Landover, Md.

The loss ended an 11-game winning streak by Villanova, which was coming off a 96-73 road victory over then-No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday.

Jerome Williams scored 14 points for Georgetown, which jumped to an 11-0 lead. Othella Harrington had 12.