The season’s final AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll has been released, and BYU fans won’t be happy about it.
Despite being ranked in 16 of the past 17 polls, the Cougars finished four spots outside of the AP Top 25 following their first-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 11-seeded Duquesne.
On the other hand, Utah State slotted in at No. 22 in the final rankings, marking the sixth such finish in program history.
The Aggies won their first tournament game since 2001 in 88-72 fashion over TCU in the first round before eventually bowing out to eventual national runner-up Purdue.
Four Big 12 teams — No. 4 Houston, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 16 Baylor and No. 19 Kansas — were featured in the poll. Utah State was the lone ranked Mountain West squad.
The Aggies finished ahead of No. 23 Washington State and behind No. 21 Saint Mary’s. With 71 points from voters, BYU was 41 votes shy of the top 25.
While voters weren’t kind to the Cougars, the advanced metrics showed Mark Pope and company much more grace. BYU finished No. 12 in NET and No. 18 in KenPom, while the Aggies ranked No. 38 and No. 51 each, respectfully.
Additionally, the way-too-early preseason projections for 2024-25 all seem to love BYU and its returning core. The Athletic has the Cougars ranked at No. 13, ESPN at No. 14 and USA Today at No. 10.
Utah State will have a tougher road back into next year’s top 25, with Jerrod Calhoun replacing Danny Sprinkle and attempting to keep the band together in Logan.