A win over USC might’ve just been the thing the Utes needed to jump-start their season.
It also helped them jump up in the rankings.
Utah moved up four spots to No. 16 in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday.
“We’ve been frustrated how the last few games panned out,” Utah forward Alissa Pili said after victories over Cal and USC. “It’s pushed us to play harder. We’ve really bought into our team and focused on what we can do to win. We can’t leave it in the refs hands so why not blow out teams by 40 or 20 points.”
The Utes, meanwhile, had another set of tests looming.
After hosting No. 2 UCLA on Monday night, Utah travels to Oregon for games against the Ducks on Friday and the No. 25 Beavers on Sunday.
In the men’s poll, Utah State and BYU both dropped spots after losses last week.
The Aggies, now 17-2 after losing at New Mexico, fell two spots to No. 18. After splitting top-25 matchups with Iowa State and Texas Tech over the weekend, BYU is now ranked No. 21 in the country.
