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PROVO — BYU’s first move into the Associated Press Top 25 since 2011 was not one-and-done.
Following a stunning 91-78 win over then-No. 2 Gonzaga, the Cougars rose from 23rd in the weekly AP poll to No. 17.
BYU also entered the USA Today Coaches' poll, entering the rankings for the first time since 2011 at No. 18, while senior forward Yoeli Childs was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week after averaging 25 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in wins over Santa Clara and the Zags.
It's Childs' first player of the week honor of the year, and first for BYU since TJ Haws took the recurrent award on Dec. 2.
BYU is one of two teams from the West Coast Conference in the Top 25, joining Gonzaga (27-2), which fell just one spot to No. 3 behind top-ranked Kansas — which beat new No. 2 Baylor on Saturday. Dayton and San Diego State round out the top-five, and Utah State received nine votes in the latest poll.
The Cougars rank between No. 16 Penn State, which lost to Indiana 68-60 to fall from No. 9 last week, and No. 18 Iowa (19-8) and No. 19 Michigan (18-9).
The rise marks another chapter in the unprecedented first season under head coach Mark Pope, who won his 100th career game Saturday night.
For the Cougars, beating Gonzaga behind standout performances by the senior tandem of Yoeli Childs, TJ Haws, Jake Toolson and Zac Seljaas is a season-defining win. It’s currently the best win by the program, which improved to 3-4 in Quadrant 1 games with the split of the Zags. Other big wins include a 72-71 road victory over Houston and a 68-64 neutral-site win over Utah State in Salt Lake City.
The Cougars’ 81-79 win over Saint Mary’s, currently classified as “Quad 2” in which the Cougars are 4-3, could also morph into a Quad 1 win if the No. 32 NET-rated Gaels move up two spots in the ever-changing rankings.
Gonzaga’s status near the top of college basketball remains sure. At 27-2, the Zags rank No. 4 in KenPom and third in the NET — and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm still projects Mark Few’s team as a No. 1 seed.
Beyond passing on the potential to ascend to No. 1 in the AP poll following Baylor’s loss to then-No. 3 Kansas earlier Saturday, Gonzaga’s resume was hardly damaged by the loss. Credit goes to the Zags, the standard of the West Coast Conference whose standard was met — for one night, at least — by the Cougars. If the two best teams in the league played 10 times, it’s likely that the Zags would win nine of them.
But one of them happened on Senior Night in the Marriott Center, and that’s good enough for BYU.
The win propelled the Cougars to No. 16 in KenPom, No. 14 in the NET, and No. 17 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 released Sunday night.
It also moves BYU squarely off the NCAA Tournament bubble — and into the field. Almost every bracketologist and college basketball projects the Cougars as a lock for the field of 68 — with some even arguing that the top-rated 3-point shooting team in the country could be a dark horse Sweet 16 or Final Four participant.
