Riding a 13-game win streak, the Utah State Aggies leaped into the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday.
USU debuted at No. 20 after opening Mountain West Conference play with wins over Air Force and then-No. 13 Colorado State.
New head coach Danny Sprinkle has quickly rebuilt an Aggies’ roster that saw a mass exodus through the transfer portal last year. Despite not returning a single point of offensive production from a year ago, the Aggies are 14-1.
Utah State’s leading scorer, junior wing Great Osobor, had a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double in the win over the Rams.
The Aggies will look to continue their run when they host Wyoming on Tuesday.
BYU drops after Big 12 opener
The Cougars’ Big 12 debut was ruined by fellow conference newcomer Cincinnati. BYU’s Trevin Knell scored a career-high 27 points, but the Bearcats left the Marriott Center with a 71-60 victory.
“Cincinnati did some things really well and we couldn’t quite keep the game the way we wanted it in the second half,” BYU head coach Mark Pope said.
The loss dropped BYU to 12-2 on the season.
On Monday, it also dropped the Cougars dropped six spots to No. 18 in the poll.
There’s little time to sulk with a huge resume-building opportunity ahead. Pope’s squad will visit No. 14 Baylor for a Top-25 showdown in Waco on Tuesday night.
“We move on and … prepare for a really important game at Baylor,” he said.
The 7 p.m. tipoff will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Utah women stumble again
A case of food poisoning hit the Utes roster and kept Utah guard Kennady McQueen out of the team’s weekend shootaround in Arizona.
By Sunday afternoon, a 71-70 overtime defeat to the Wildcats had the Utes feeling sick all over again.
The loss caused Utah — the No. 5 team in the nation to start the year — to drop four more spots to No. 19 in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday.
The Utes are now 11-4 overall and 1-2 in Pac-12 play.
All four of Utah’s losses have come away from Salt Lake City. Three of them have come at the hands of teams currently ranked in the top five: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 4 Baylor and No. 5 Colorado.
The Utes can take some comfort in knowing their next four games will be played at the Huntsman Center. But that doesn’t mean things will be easy.
Next up: a showdown with No. 8 Stanford on Friday.
