BYU Men Tumble Down AP Top 25 Rankings, Women Make Historic Jump
Dec 6, 2021, 2:19 PM | Updated: 2:37 pm
BYU basketball coach Mark Pope frowns as a UVU victory against BYU is imminent at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball still has two teams ranked in the AP Top 25 rankings, they are just going in two different directions.
After a surprising upset loss to crosstown foe Utah Valley, the BYU men’s basketball team tumbled from No. 24 to No. 12 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The 12 spot fall was the biggest drop among ranked teams this week.
#️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/3nakcwjRHA
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) December 6, 2021
BYU’s bounce-back victory on the road against Top-100 foe Missouri State likely kept the Cougars from falling out of the rankings altogether.
The Cougars are now 7-1 on the season with another difficult stretch of games coming up. This week BYU hosts Utah State on Wednesday night at the Marriott Center and then travels to the Pentagon in South Dakota to face Creighton from the Big East Conference.
The identity of Mark Pope’s team has been altered due to injuries and recent illnesses to his roster. BYU lost center Gavin Baxter for the season after tearing his left ACL, and they are still without Richard Harward who is battling cardiovascular issues.
There could be reinforcements on the way as Gideon George, who has missed the last two games due to an illness, is one of BYU’s most active rebounders on the glass.
We’re movin 🆙 #16 pic.twitter.com/ZOkvTjv04B
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) December 6, 2021
The BYU Women’s Basketball team continues its rise up the rankings. With a perfect 8-0 record, fresh off a win over rival Utah, BYU made the second-biggest jump in this week’s poll climbing five spots from No. 21 to No. 16. Only Duke made a higher climb going from unranked to No. 19 in this fifth edition of the Top 25 this season.
The No. 16 ranking is the highest in BYU Women’s Basketball history.
BYU has one game this week when they face future Big 12 Conference foe Oklahoma in Norman on Friday, December 10.
BYU Basketball falls in AP Top 25
Week 5 – December 6th, 2021
1. Purdue (8-0)
2. Baylor (8-0)
3. Duke (7-1)
4. UCLA (8-1)
5. Gonzaga (7-2)
6. Villanova (6-2)
7. Texas (6-1)
8. Kansas (6-1)
9. Alabama (7-1)
10. Kentucky (6-1)
11. Arizona (7-0)
12. Arkansas (8-0)
13. Tennessee (6-1)
14. Houston (7-1)
15. UConn (8-1)
16. USC (8-0)
17. Iowa State (8-0)
18. Auburn (7-1)
19. Michigan State (7-2)
20. Florida (6-1)
21. Ohio State (6-2)
22. Wisconsin (7-1)
23. Seton Hall (7-1)
24. BYU (7-1)
25. LSU (8-0)
Women’s Top 25
Week 5
1. South Carolina (9-0)
2. NC State (8-1)
3. UConn (5-1)
4. Stanford (5-2)
5. Baylor (8-1)
6. Arizona (7-0)
7. Louisville (7-1)
8. Maryland (8-2)
9. Tennessee (8-0)
10. Indiana (5-2)
11. Texas (6-1)
12. Iowa (5-1)
13. Michigan (8-1)
14. Kentucky (6-1)
15. Iowa State (8-1)
16. BYU (8-0)
17. South Florida (5-3)
18. Texas A&M (8-1)
19. Duke (8-0)
20. Ohio State (6-1)
21. Georgia (7-1)
22. Notre Dame (7-2)
23. Oregon State (4-2)
24. LSU (6-1)
25. Colorado (8-0)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
