alt=Brandon JuddSALT LAKE CITY — For the first time since the final poll of the 2010-11 season, BYU is ranked in the Associated Press top 25 men’s basketball poll.
The Cougars came in at No. 23 in the latest weekly poll released Monday morning. BYU received 43 votes in last week’s poll, enough to put it fourth among “others receiving votes,” and had 188 votes in this week’s poll.
This sets up a top 25 matchup in Provo this week, as No. 2 Gonzaga visits the Marriott Center on Saturday.
BYU is coming off a pair of road wins in California, over Loyola Marymount (when the Cougars made a school-record 18 3-pointers) and San Diego (a 72-71 victory when Yoeli Childs scored the game-winning alley oop with 11.1 seconds to play). The Cougars, at 21-7 overall and 10-3 in West Coast Conference play, have won six straight games.
Seven of the eight teams ranked from No. 18 to No. 25 lost in the past week, opening the possibility for BYU to climb into the top 25.
It’s the first time the Cougars have been ranked since they were No. 10 in the final AP rankings in the 2010-11 season when BYU reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. Behind seniors Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery, the Cougars went 32-5 and were ranked in every poll that season, rising as high as No. 3.
Utah State, which was ranked as high as No. 15 in the AP poll earlier this year, received eight votes in this week’s rankings.