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SALT LAKE CITY — After a few weeks away, Utah State men's basketball is back in the national spotlight.
The Aggies (22-5) climbed into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since the beginning of the month Monday after last week's 68-63 home win over then-No. 19 San Diego State.
The win marked Utah State's first spot inside the top 25 since the Aggies were ranked No. 22 the week of Feb. 5. The Aztecs (21-7) dropped one spot to No. 20 after rebounding on the weekend with a 73-41 win over Fresno State.
It's just the third time in program history the Aggies have been nationally ranked at least six weeks in a single season. Utah State ranks 40th in KenPom and No. 29 in the NET.
BYU (19-8) also split the week, but a 78-71 home win over then-No. 11 Baylor was not enough to keep the Cougars in the top 25 after then-No. 25 BYU struggled on the road in an 84-74 loss at Kansas State.
The Cougars next face No. 7 Kansas, which beat Texas 86-67 over the weekend, Tuesday in a road tilt at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. BYU is back home Saturday to host former Mountain West rival TCU, which finished three spots behind BYU with 45 points in the "others receiving votes" category.
Utah State also ranks No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after last week's win over San Diego State. The Aztecs stayed at No. 19 in the same poll.
BYU dropped five spots from No. 21 in the coaches poll after splitting the week with wins over Baylor, who dropped three spots to No. 14, and a road loss to Kansas State. The Cougars are the first team out among the "others receiving votes" distinction.
BYU is rated 18th nationally in KenPom, including a top-10 adjusted offense and No. 68 adjusted defense, and No. 13 in the NET.
POLL ALERT: Houston jumps to No. 1 in AP Top 25 shakeup, followed by Purdue, UConn; Utah State, Gonzaga, South Florida join poll.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 26, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsapic.twitter.com/hWv6UDdKw6
Houston climbed to the No. 1 overall ranking for the first time this year, inching up one spot after receiving 53 first-place votes for 1,540 total points. Purdue (25-3) is second with four first-place votes, followed by UConn (25-3) with five. Tennessee (21-6) and Marquette (21-6) round out the top five.
"Our guys are tough," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said after an overtime win at Baylor, per the AP. "We're not always pretty. But last time I checked this is not a beauty contest."
The SEC leads all conferences with six ranked teams, including No. 14 Alabama, No. 16 Kentucky and No. 18 South Carolina. The Big 12 is next with four teams, all ranked in the top 15.
The Big East had three ranked teams, while the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Pac-12, Mountain West and West Coast conferences each had two.
AP Women's poll
Utah women's basketball stayed at No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 after the Utes' 74-68 win over USC.
The Sunday victory at the Galen Center was the highest ranked win on the road in program history, and the Utes' fourth upset victory over a top-10 team all-time.
Alissa Pili poured in 23 points and nine rebounds against her former team to help the Utes to a 20-8 record that includes a 10-6 mark in Pac-12 play.
The Trojans, who also stunned Colorado 87-81 Friday night, stayed at No. 7 in the latest poll, which has six ranked teams from the Pac-12 led by No. 4 Stanford. UCLA is eighth, Oregon State is 11th, and Colorado 13th.
Undefeated South Carolina remains the unanimous No. 1 team, followed by Ohio State and Texas. Stanford and Virginia Tech round out the top five.
POLL ALERT: Texas up to No. 3 behind South Carolina, Ohio State in AP Top 25 women's basketball poll; Iowa drops to No. 6, UCLA, LSU, UConn all back in the top 10.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 26, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZpzgqczgyXpic.twitter.com/gpixzr4WdC
Aggies sweep MW weekly awards
After a 68-63 win over then-No. 19 San Diego State, Utah State guard Darius Brown II was named Mountain West Player of the Week and redshirt freshman teammate Mason Falsely took home freshman of the week honors, the league announced Monday.
Brown scored a season-high 25 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists, shooting 61.5% from the field and 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the Aggies' second win over an AP top 25 team of the season.
Falslev totaled 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in the upset, including a tip-out to Brown for a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to help ice the game.
Utah State hits the road to visit Fresno State on Tuesday. Tipoff at 8 p.m. MST will air on the Mountain West Network.
