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PROVO — With chaos brewing just below Dan Hurley's squad with the current No. 1 spot in the Associated PressTop 25, UConn (18-2) sat atop the rankings after the Huskies' eighth straight win.
Locally, Utah State and BYU mostly held serve with the No. 17 and No. 22 rankings, respectively.
The Cougars and the Aggies remained relatively constant after wins over Texas and Boise State, respectively. But the Big 12 continued its dominant run in the AP Top 25, tying for a season-high top-25 programs with an eighth team joining the fray Monday in TCU.
Utah State's 18-2 start is tied for the fourth-best in school history and the best since the 2008-09 season. Ranked No. 17 by the Coaches Poll, the Aggies are 68-21 all-time as an AP ranked team after Saturday's 90-84 overtime victory over Boise State at ExtraMile Arena.
BYU followed up a 75-68 home loss to No. 4 Houston with an 84-72 win over the Longhorns that included a national uproar when a group of BYU students were told to remove T-shirts spelling out "horns down" in front of the Texas bench. The students removed the shirts by the first media timeout of the first half.
For the first time since two weeks ago, the Big 12 Conference has eight ranked teams in the @AP_Top25pic.twitter.com/diXo5X3kzX
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) January 29, 2024
Purdue (19-2) was second in the poll, followed by North Carolina (17-3), Houston (18-2) and Tennessee (15-4). But the tenor of the poll shifted dramatically, with movement of as many as 11-12 spots as conference play shifted into overdrive last week.
Wisconsin (16-4) and Duke (15-4) took massive jumps to No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, while Iowa State (16-4) rolled up 11 spots to No. 12 after sweeping the Sunflower State, 79-75 over Kansas and 79-67 over Kansas State.
After the latter, Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger spent much of the postgame media protocol defending his program against unnamed allegations reportedly coming from Kansas State coach Jerome Tang and his staff (via the Wichita Eagle, citing anonymous sources) that team managers or other representatives behind Kansas State's bench filmed the Wildcat huddles with the intent to steal signs.
"Ludicrous rumors earlier this week that somehow we were trying to gain an advantage looking into our opponent's huddles is an affront to our players, our fans and to me," said Otzelbeger, per the Associated Press. "It's not who I am. It's not what our program is about. And I'm angry that someone would even make that suggestion.
Since T.J. Otzelberger arrived at Iowa State, the @AP_Top25 has released 5️⃣0️⃣ MBB polls.
— Connor Ferguson (@cfchangs9) January 29, 2024
Under Otz, the Cyclones have appeared in 2️⃣3️⃣ of them.
Stat thanks to @ryancworkman
🎥 @CBSSportsCBBpic.twitter.com/2Ct7MH4HEy
"What is factual is one of their staff members cursed out one of our student managers who was mopping the floor under the basket," he added. "So, let's put this to bed here and now. It didn't happen. It won't happen. And others need to be much more careful with their words moving forward."
BYU has a midweek bye before resuming Big 12 play Saturday on the road at West Virginia. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST on ESPN+.
Utah State returns home Tuesday at 7 p.m. MST against San Jose State before traveling to San Diego State for a 1:30 p.m. MST tipoff Saturday against the Aztecs.
