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PROVO — BYU men's basketball fell hard in the latest edition of the Associated Press Top 25, but the Cougars are still among the ranked teams in the national media poll.
The Cougars were ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Top 25 released Monday, two days after Saturday's 93-83 loss at Oklahoma State. The loss also dropped BYU to two spots to No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
BYU is one of six ranked teams from the Big 12, led by No. 2 Houston (22-3) and No. 6 Iowa State (20-5) after Texas Tech (18-7) re-entered the poll at No. 23. Kansas (20-6) dropped three spots to No. 9 from last week, and Baylor is up to No. 11.
The Cougars host the Bears (19-6) Tuesday night at the Marriott Center (7 p.m. MST, ESPN).
The SEC moved into a tie with the Big 12 for the most ranked teams with six apiece. The Big East has three, while the Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC and Mountain West each have two, per the AP.
UConn (24-2) became the first unanimous No. 1-ranked team, receiving all 62 first-place votes for 1,550 total points. After Houston comes Purdue (23-3), Arizona (20-5) and Tennessee (19-6).
"All we can control is taking a championship approach to the next game," said UConn coach Dan Hurley, whose team was the No. 2 overall seed behind Purdue in the first look provided by the NCAA Tournament selection committee over the weekend.
Utah State received 22 points in the latest ballot, nine spots outside the top 25, after Saturday's 75-55 loss at Colorado State. The Aggies (21-5) host No. 19 San Diego State (20-6) on Tuesday night (7 p.m. MST, CBS Sports Network).
Four teams entered or re-entered the top 25, led by No. 21 Washington State for the first time since the 2007-08 season following a seven-game winning streak. The Cougars were joined by Colorado State, Texas Tech and Florida just ahead of BYU.
POLL ALERT: UConn is a unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25; No. 21 Washington State ends its 302-week poll drought.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 19, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsapic.twitter.com/YEroEBMd1x
AP women's poll
Utah (19-7) jumped four spots to No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 after Friday's buzzer-beating win over then-No. 8 Colorado.
The Utes are one of a nation-high six ranked teams from the Pac-12, including five teams ranked in the first 12.
South Carolina (25-0) stayed atop the rankings, followed by Ohio State (22-3), Stanford (23-3), Iowa (23-3) and Texas (24-3).
POLL ALERT: Southern California climbs to No. 7 in women's AP Top 25; South Carolina still a unanimous No. 1.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 19, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZpzgqczgyXpic.twitter.com/341FmY7Qik
BYU's Gustin wins back-to-back POTW honors
BYU forward Lauren Gustin became the first player to earn at least a share of Big 12 Player of the Week honors Monday when the senior from Salem Hills High was named co-player of the week alongside Texas freshman Madison Booker.
Gustin averaged 27.5 points and 16.5 rebounds per game for the Cougars in a home-road split starting with a 64-60 win at UCF. The graduated senior from Boise, Idaho singlehandedly kept BYU in the game against Kansas, totaling a career-high 33 points and 18 rebounds in the eventual 70-62 loss.
