Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A weekend split sent the BYU and Utah State men's basketball teams in opposite directions to land close to one another in Monday's Associated Press Top 25.
The Cougars inched up one spot to No. 21, receiving 425 points by the voters after Saturday's 86-73 road win over West Virginia, after climbing two spots to No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Aggies lost for just the third time this season, an 81-67 road setback to San Diego State that dropped Utah State five spots to No. 22 nationally. The Aztecs re-entered the rankings at No. 24 with the win, giving the Mountain West three ranked teams alongside No. 25 New Mexico (which dropped six spots following an 86-78 loss to Boise State).
The Aggies (19-3, 7-2) are also ranked 21st in the Coaches Poll, down four spots from last week. It's the fifth straight week the Aggies have been ranked in both polls, and the 10th time in school history that Utah State is nationally ranked.
BYU (16-5, 4-4 Big 12) is one of a nation-high six ranked teams from the Big 12, led by No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Houston. Texas (22) and Oklahoma (17) are also receiving votes. The Sooners most recently fell out of the top 25 after Saturday's 74-63 road loss to UCF, joining TCU in formerly ranked teams from the conference.
"West Virginia had been playing really well at home, beating Kansas, Texas and Cincinnati. We knew we had a job coming in here that we had to take care of our business," BYU wing Spencer Johnson said after the game. "But it's super fun to come on the road and get a win."
Reigning national champion UConn, Purdue and North Carolina remained atop the AP Top 25 for the third straight week, while South Carolina cracked the rankings for the first time since 2017.
The Huskies received 45 of 61 first-place votes for their fourth consecutive week at No. 1, while the Boilermakers picked up the other 16 votes.
The SEC has five ranked teams, led by No. 6 Tennessee, while the Big East and Big Ten have three each.
BYU stays on the road Tuesday to face Oklahoma (6 p.m. MST, ESPN+). The Cougars are back home Saturday to host Kansas State (8 p.m. MST, ESPN2).
Utah State is back home Tuesday to host Nevada (17-5, 4-4 MW). The game will be broadcast at 7 p.m. MST on KMYU and the Mountain West Network.
Women's AP Top 25
In the AP women's poll, Utah (17-6) stayed at No. 20 after a 73-61 win over Washington State. The Utes return home Friday to host former Fremont High star Timea Gardiner and No. 18 Oregon State at 7 p.m. MST, followed by a Sunday noon tip against Oregon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Unbeaten South Carolina (21-0) remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, followed by Iowa (21-2), North Carolina State (19-2), Colorado (19-3) and Ohio State (19-3).
