Kansas edges Wake in first poll

The Jayhawks have four starters back from a regional finalist.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sure, Kansas often grabs a spot in the upper half of the AP preseason college basketball poll, but the school hasn't been No. 1 since Wilt Chamberlain suited up for the Jayhawks in the 1950s.
Kansas stood atop The Associated Press' Top 25 on Monday, the 13th straight season the Jayhawks have been ranked 11th or higher in the first poll.
The Jayhawks received 25 first-place votes and 1,697 points from the national media panel, edging Wake Forest, which had 22 first-place votes and 1,680 points.
The Demon Deacons were the first of three straight Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the poll, and six teams from the league were in the Top 25.
High hopes
Wayne Simien leads four starters back for Kansas, which lost to Georgia Tech in the NCAA tournament's regional finals last season. The Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 for one week last season and they have been ranked No. 2 in five of the last 12 preseason polls.
"I hope we're never going to be satisfied and our veterans understand they've got to go play. It's nice, but it means nothing in the big scheme of things," coach Bill Self said.
The Jayhawks hope they can do even better than the last time they were No. 1 in the preseason: In 1956-57, Chamberlain led them to the national championship game, a triple-overtime loss to North Carolina.
Wake Forest has all five starters back from the team that lost to Saint Joseph's in the round of 16.
"You see it, you look at it, and you shake your head, but you can't waste one nanosecond to worry about it," Demon Deacons coach Skip Prosser said.
Others
Georgia Tech and North Carolina were third and fourth in the balloting. It is the second time in three years one conference has had the Nos. 2-4 in the preseason poll. The Big 12's Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas were in that order in 2002.
No. 11 Duke, No. 15 Maryland and No. 19 North Carolina State round out the ACC teams in the poll.
Illinois, where Self coached before heading to Kansas, was fifth. Syracuse was sixth, followed by Oklahoma State, defending national champion Connecticut, Kentucky and Arizona.
After Duke came Mississippi State, Michigan State, Louisville, Maryland, Texas, Pittsburgh, Alabama, North Carolina State and Notre Dame.
The last five teams in the poll were Wisconsin, Washington, Florida, Memphis and Gonzaga.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.