BYU Basketball Drops In AP Top 25 Before Another Ranked Matchup

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball took a slight dip in the AP Top 25 rankings for week three of the 2025-26 season.

The Cougars dropped from No. 7 to No. 9 in this week’s ranking.

BYU is the highest-ranked team in the country with one loss. Their lone setback was this past Saturday against the No. 3 UConn Huskies in Boston.

Another week with a half dozen #Big12MBB teams ranked in the @AP_Top25 📊 pic.twitter.com/3HuoT7xFZR

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 17, 2025

BYU found themselves down by 20, but stormed back with opportunities to tie the game late at the TD Garden.

Freshman star AJ Dybantsa scored 25 points and was praised by UConn’s Dan Hurley for his elite shot-making ability.

BYU has been nestled within the top 10 of the AP Top 25 since the preseason poll was released last month.

BYU basketball moved down to No. 9 in the latest AP Top 25 rankings

They won’t be able to assume the schedule gets any easier after the setback against UConn. Next up for BYU is another AP Top 25 matchup, as they welcome No. 23 Wisconsin to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

BYU knocked off the Badgers last season in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in Denver. Like BYU, there are many new faces on this year’s Badgers team compared to the one that faced the Cougars in the Big Dance.

Wisconsin’s leading scorer is San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd, who is averaging 19.3 points per game through the first three games of the season.

BYU is one of six teams from the Big 12 that appear in this week’s AP Top 25.

The pollsters dropped the previously No. 1-ranked team, Houston, down to No. 2 after a close win in Birmingham, Alabama, over the fellow-ranked team, Auburn.

Along with BYU and Houston from the Big 12, the rankings also include Arizona at No. 4, Texas Tech at No. 15, Iowa State at No. 16, and Kansas at No. 24.

No. 9 BYU versus No. 23 Wisconsin tips off on Friday, November 21, at 2 p.m. (MST) on Peacock and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).

AP Top 25: Men’s Basketball Poll

November 17, 2025 edition: Week Three

1. Purdue

2. Houston

3. UConn

4. Arizona

5. Duke

6. Louisville

7. Michigan

8. Illinois

9. BYU

10. Florida

11. Alabama

12. Kentucky

13. Gonzaga

14. St. John’s

15. Texas Tech

16. Iowa State

17. Michigan State

18. North Carolina

19. UCLA

20. Tennessee

21. Arkansas

22. Auburn

23. Wisconsin

24. Kansas

25. NC State

Others receiving votes: San Diego State, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Ohio State, USC, Georgetown, Creighton, Baylor, Saint Mary’s, Missouri, Ole Miss, Iowa, Utah State, Georgia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Stanford, Kansas State.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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