Cougars make earliest poll appearance since 1980-81
PROVO -- The BYU men's basketball team entered the national rankings Monday, earning the program's earliest appearance in the national polls since the 1980-81 season. BYU is ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Cougars are coming off a second-place finish at the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational where they defeated No. 6 Louisville Friday before suffering their first loss of the year in a closely contested championship battle against No. 1 North Carolina Saturday. BYU has a 5-1 record on the year.
"(The ranking) is something we can build on," said BYU coach Dave Rose, the two-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year who has guided the Cougars to back-to-back 20-win seasons in his first two years. "We have a lot of work to do and need to keep improving as a team to get ready for the Mountain West Conference season."
In his third year guiding the program, Rose has seen his team earn the respect of the national voters for the second consecutive season. Last year, BYU entered the polls on Feb. 19 to receive the program's first national ranking since 1993. BYU finished last year ranked No. 24 in the final AP Poll, something a Cougar team had not accomplished since 1988.
BYU has now been ranked in back-to-back season for the first time since 1980-81 and 1981-82. This week's entry into the national rankings marks the earliest the Cougars have been included in the polls since receiving a No. 18 ranking in the 1980-81 AP preseason poll. It also marks the first time BYU's football and men's basketball teams have been nationally ranked the same week in the AP poll since Dec. 28, 1992.
The Cougar basketball program has now been ranked in the AP Poll during 16 seasons since its first national ranking in 1950-51 (see list below).
BYU's next game is Saturday at Portland.
AP TOP 25 POLL
1. North Carolina (28) 5-0 1,736
2. UCLA (25) 6-0 1,727
3. Memphis (18) 5-0 1,689
4. Kansas 5-0 1,577
5. Georgetown (1) 3-0 1,536
6. Washington State 6-0 1,360
7. Duke 6-0 1,353
8. Texas 5-0 1,240
9. Texas A&M 6-0 1,163
10. Michigan State 4-1 1,015
11. Tennessee 5-1 973
12. Louisville 4-1 964
13. Marquette 4-1 950
14. Pittsburgh 5-0 871
15. Indiana 4-1 766
16. Butler 6-0 742
17. Oregon 5-1 511
18. Clemson 5-0 495
19. Gonzaga 5-1 454
20. Wisconsin 5-0 234
21. Brigham Young 5-1 225
22. USC 5-1 217
23. Xavier 4-1 199
24. North Carolina State 4-1 173
25. Kansas State 5-1 163
Others Receiving Votes
Villanova 162, Vanderbilt 109, Syracuse 90, Arizona 85, Southern Illinois 80, Miami (FL) 68, Arkansas 64, Virginia 62, Seton Hall 54, Ohio State 53, Saint Mary's 50, Connecticut 34, George Mason 34, Stanford 27, Boston College 18, Missouri 18, West Virginia 17, Florida 12, New Orleans 9, Baylor 5, Illinois 4, Kentucky 4, Miami (OH) 3, Ohio 2, New Mexico 1, George Washington 1, Texas Tech 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Southern Illinois 19, Villanova 20, Syracuse 21, Virginia 23, Florida 25.
ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES POLL
1. UCLA (12) 6-0 749
2. North Carolina (13) 5-0 745
3. Memphis (5) 5-0 719
4. Kansas (1) 5-0 688
5. Georgetown 3-0 654
6. Washington State 6-0 591
7. Duke 6-0 562
8. Texas 5-0 502
9. Texas A&M 6-0 498
10. Louisville 4-1 423
11. Pittsburgh 5-0 417
12. Tennessee 5-1 403
13. Michigan State 4-1 396
14. Marquette 4-1 352
15. Indiana 4-1 324
16. Butler 6-0 300
17. Oregon 5-1 233
18. Clemson 5-0 232
19. Gonzaga 5-1 206
20. Wisconsin 5-0 160
21. Villanova 4-1 114
22. Southern Illinois 3-1 109
23. Brigham Young 5-1 88
24. USC 5-1 69
25. Xavier 4-1 65
Others Receiving Votes
North Carolina State 56, Kansas State 50, Syracuse 50, Saint Mary's 39, Virginia 36, Arizona 34, Vanderbilt 33, Miami (FL) 28, Arkansas 22, Ohio State 21, Connecticut 17, Stanford 16, Oklahoma 13, Illinois 11, Florida State 10, Miami (OH) 10, Holy Cross 7, Florida 6, Missouri 6, California 4, New Mexico 3, Seton Hall 2, Baylor 2.
Dropped From Rankings
Kansas State 20, Syracuse 21, Florida 24.
SEASONS BYU HAS BEEN RANKED IN THE AP POLL
SEASON HIGHEST RANKING
1950-51 11
1952-53 19
1955-56 5
1964-65 9
1965-66 6
1966-67 7
1970-71 20
1971-72 6
1972-73 12
1979-80 12
1980-81 15
1981-82 15
1987-88 3
1992-93 21
2006-07 21
2007-08 21