Utah State Remains At No. 17, Utes Receive Votes In AP Top 25 Poll

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After winning their first two games of the regular season last week, Utah State remains at No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Utah basketball team received 14 votes in the poll.

Utah State started the regular season with a close 81-73 win over Montana State on Tuesday. Sam Merrill recorded a team-high 28 points, along with 5 rebounds and shot 17-of-18 from the free throw line. Justin Bean added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Aggies posted a dominant performance on Friday at home when they knocked off Weber State, 89-34. Bean had a career-high 18 points, while Merrill chipped in 14 points.

The Utes started their 2019-20 campaign with a big road win over Nevada on Tuesday, 79-74. Timmy Allen led the way with a double-double, 23 points and 11 rebounds. Both Gach contributed 22 points. Utah snapped Nevada’s 18-game home winning streak. In their home opener on Friday against Mississippi Valley State, Utah set the Division I record for the largest margin of victory with a 94-point win, 143-49. Allen led the Utes with 26 points, while both Rylan Jones and Both Gach recorded triple-doubles.

POLL ALERT: Kentucky the new No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll, Duke up to No. 2; Michigan State, Louisville, Kansas round out top five.

Full poll: https://t.co/xXlGQKLkGZ pic.twitter.com/Jh2HHgULgx

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 11, 2019

Utah State will host Denver on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and North Carolina A&T on Friday at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast online on the Mountain West Network. Utah will face Minnesota on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

Here is the entire Top 25 ranking heading into the second week of the college basketball season:

1. Kentucky (2-0)
2. Duke (2-0)
3. Michigan State (1-1)
4. Louisville (2-0)
5. Kansas (1-1)
6. North Carolina (2-0)
7. Maryland (2-0)
8. Gonzaga (2-0)
9. Virginia (2-0)
10. Villanova (1-0)
11. Texas Tech (2-0)
12. Seton Hall (2-0)
13. Memphis (2-0)
14. Oregon (2-0)
15. Florida (1-1)
16. Ohio State (2-0)
17. Utah State (2-0)
18. Saint Mary’s (1-0)
19. Arizona (2-0)
20. Washington (1-0)
21. Xavier (2-0)
22. Auburn (2-0)
23. LSU (1-0)
24. Baylor (1-1)
25. Colorado (1-0)

Others receiving votes:
VCU (137), Florida State (112), Texas (95), Marquette (67), Tennessee (49), Providence (23), Purdue (21), Houston (18), Utah (14), Missouri (13), Arkansas (11), Mississippi State (9), Georgia (4), Liberty (3), San Diego State (2), Creighton (1), Dayton (1), Vermont (1).