By AARON BEARD, AP Basketball Writer
Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in the latest poll to stay comfortably ahead of No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 3 Kansas. That's up from 44 first-place votes from the previous week.
The Bears are atop the rankings for a third straight week. The Zags got 15 first-place votes after having 19 a week earlier.
No. 9 Maryland and No. 11 Auburn made the week's biggest jumps. Each rose six spots. No. 21 Creighton and No. 23 Arizona re-entered the poll. Wichita State and Rutgers fell out of the top 25.